Stay Involved!!!

It’s been a few weeks since I have written anything for the blog. I have been SUPER busy and haven’t had the time to write much of anything that wasn’t related to my job or graduate school. There are a number of issues that I want to hit so just bare with me if it seems like I’m all over the place. Trust me when I say that it all will come together at the end.

The first issue I would like to discuss has to do with Black films. A friend of mine asked me to write about the heavy bootlegging of Denzel Washington’s movie American Gangster and Tyler Perry’s Why did I get Married. To start, I planned to watch both movies in the theater. I am a huge fan of film, and take advantage of anytime I can see a good movie. I believe firmly that it is important if we want “quality” Black movies to come out we need to support the movie with our dollars. In the event that we don’t support these movies in the theater the only Black movies that come out will be movies like Soul Plane and other coon-like films, that cater to a crowd that is confused or stand in opposition to the self determination of the Black community. I think it is also clear that these movies were illegally released by the film companies. The quality was not of a random person filming the movie while sitting in the back of the theater, the quality was crystal clear DVD quality. The American Gangster copy even had a PLAY option at the start, instead of just beginning like most bootlegging DVD do. I think most people realize this fact and made a conscious decision that even if they watched the bootleg they still where going to eventually see the films in the theater or buy the DVD when it is released.

I have beefs with both movies as far as content, and other “quality” Black films that have been released since these movies. (The only Latino person in This Christmas was the Latina maid. Situation like this only lend itself to supporting stereotypes that we should protest at every junction. White folks type caste Black folks in their movies for years. We should not follow behind their ridiculous example!)I could list a number of things that could be improved upon in an effort to lift the community, but that would be beside the point. In short, although Black films have a long way to go, they have come along way throughout its history. In order for the movies that are a reflection of our community to continue to grow we need to support them with our dollars. The bootleg of American Gangster and Why did I Get Married are simply an extension of Black films that Hollywood tried to sabotage.

Historically, movie houses have given movie tickets to patrons of color with different movies from the one in which they purchased. (Movie sales are tracked the stubs that are printed when you purchase a movie at the box office.) This same process has been used in the music industry to curb the sales of our artist. This is a game the “industry” has played for years. To combat this we have to be diligent in our criticism of films that display our community, we need to support these films with our dollars, and be aware of the tricks Hollywood uses to sabotage the success of art that reflect our community. Before I conclude this issue I want to plug another Denzel/Forrest Whitiker film titled The Great Debaters. For all of you that went so hard to see American Gangster you need to make sure you support this film check out the clip ht tp://youtube.com/watch?v=8tP1bEIHRQo .

Moving on to topic number two. In May of this year there was a shooting in Brooklyn, NY. This shooting resulted in the death of a young man. The death of this very popular young man brought hundreds of teenagers from the surrounding areas of Brooklyn and Queens. The police where at the funeral in an attempt to monitor what they classified as a potential meeting of the alleged gangs involved in the shooting. At the funeral the police arrested scores of young men and women. They eventually let the young women go, but kept all of the young men for 40 hours. The young men that were detained for seemingly no real reasons have become known as the Bushwick 32.

Many of the young males that where arrested are students at Bushwick Community High School in Brooklyn. An associate of mine, Brian Favors, is a teacher at the school. Being the supportive and engaged teacher that he is, he attended every court date of the young men. On Friday December 1st Favors attempted to let the Public Defender of the boys know that she should move to get the cases against the young men dismissed in the light that the District Attorney was not ready to present their weak case. The Public Defender got annoyed with Favors and asked the Court Officer to remove Favors from the court room. The Court office mistook Favors for another young man in the crowd that looked “similar” to Favors and asked him to leave. (You all know how that goes, we all look alike.) Nkululeko Sechaba objected to leaving the court room initially, but soon realized that the court officers behavior was getting more aggressive. He decided that it would be best to leave and explain his case in the hall. Favors followed behind in support of Nekolulako. Favors attempted to tell the court officer that it was he who the Public Defender felt should leave the court. In the mist of the conversation a scuffle ensued after the police shoved Nkululeko Sechaba for trying to re enter the courtroom. A couple of students of Bushwick High School who saw the incident came to the aid of their trusted teacher. In the end all parties involved where beat up, and arrested. One of the high school students even ended up with a severe scare on his nose from being smashed into the wall.

Immediately after the incident occurred a number of e mails, phone calls, and text messages where sent to people around the city in order to rally support for the four brothers. The men where scheduled to be arraigned on Saturday morning at 9 am. It was essential that we showed the judge that these men had community support. Needless to say the courtroom was packed and all for men where released. I say all that to say this. It is important that we show support for not only Black films, but for real issues that are going on in the streets of all of our cities. Just like we can keep “quality” Black film in the theaters by supporting the film, we can keep Black men out of jail with community support. It is essential that we apply this concept to all aspects of our lives. Our numbers and dollars are enough in most cases to make the immediate adjustment to issues that affect us. Brian and Nkululeko both spoke of a sense of calm knowing that their where people on the outside that where in support of them. They knew that we would be working toward there release and that there would be hell to pay if they were not. We understand that getting them released the next morning is a small victory seeing that they have future court date, the point I am trying to make that it takes a united front, in order to make the moves toward a liberated future.

Any judge across America would think twice about holding our community in jail on trumped up charges if they knew there where thousands of people in support of the individual. Often, the judicial system works the way it does because they know in many aspects of our community we are not organized. The tide of this trend of un-organization is beginning to change dramatically. There are a number of grassroots organizations that are helping our community every day. The International People’s Democratic Uhuru Movement, the Malcolm X Grass Roots Movement, the December 12th Movement, The New Black Panther Party, The Zulu Nation, The Sankofoa Community School Program, etc. etc. all represent organization that are on the ground everyday in support of our community We need to take a stance and be apart of this collective of organizations that are working together to liberate the Black and Brown community. (Ironically the men that where arrested on Friday represent a number of different grassroots organizations in NY, this is a beautiful sign that we all are working together toward one goal of liberation).

On a side note, subsequent to the arrest of Brian Favors he was suspended from his job. The NYC public school system would rather have a dedicated teacher like Brian out of the classroom, then in the class showing through his actions the same resistance that he gets paid to teach about.

Moving on to topic number three. A very good friend of mine recently ran into some racial issues at work. I think most of us, who are fresh to the work force, are reaching the point where we are starting to see a lot of the crap that comes along with a “good” job and a “good” education. My friend is by no means a “revolutionary” type guy, he is all about the progress of Black people, but he isn’t all about the movement either. He’s a hard working young man, who handles his business day in and day out. No felonies, no baby mamas, nice “American” name, high school and college graduate the whole nine yards, the quintessential Bill Cosby approved type of guy. (This info was provided for all of you that believe you need the proper qualifications to avoid injustice). He works for the federal government in one of the more labor intensive jobs.( I don’t want to say what he does exactly, but you see these guys trooping up and down the street providing theirs services rain, sleet, snow, or hail).

A couple weeks ago while my friend was completing his daily routine he was accosted by his supervisor. After completing his probationary period on the job, they moved his to a new office. His first day at the new office, he was trying to get himself acclimated to the new station and neighborhood. He went out that day to complete his daily duty, but ended up spending more time in route than he originally had anticipated. When he returned, about an hour after his allotted time, he explained to his supervisor that a lot information they provided him was inaccurate. The manager decided to use this opportunity to berate my friend for his lateness. The supervisor said that this is what happens when they start to hire monkeys. (This is not a direct quote, but you can get the picture, about her comments) My friend was so taken back by her comments that he didn’t know what to do or say.

No diss to my friend, but the same person who doesn’t really follow the politics of Black people, or involve himself in the movement at all is ready for some sort of rally about the supervisor’s comments. All of us are guilty of this same behavior. We all are concerned about the state of Black people, but we don’t take any action until it affects us personally.

I say all that to say this, issues involving race are easy to ignore or justify when it isn’t happening to you. It’s easy to say pull your self up by the boot straps, when your boot straps are pulled up. The problem is when issue like the one mentioned above take place we all should be ready to take action. Not just the individual involved in the situation. In short I told him that he should write a letter to the station manager and his union rep explaining to them the situation. I also suggested that the most important thing he should do is professionally ( not politely) approach the supervisor about her comments. I am a firm believer that people talk crazy, because they are certain that there won’t be approached for their behavior.

In the event that they knew that they (white, black, brown, or other) would be held accountable for their behavior toward our people, they would be less likely to take such a ridiculous stance. The same vigor that we should take to the theater in support of our movies, or in support of our men and women who are being jailed at an alarming rate, should be institutionalized in our places of work and community. We need to create an environment where we are carving out the political space to move our community forward.

The final issue I would like to discuss is the issue surrounding a police shooting out in Brooklyn. The police shot and killed a mentally disturbed teenager after the mom, out of complete desperation, called the police to help her with her child that was having a mental break down. There is no real need to re hash the whole story you can read about it here http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/11/19/another-fatal-police-shooting-in-brooklyn/ . The contradiction of the police shooting another young Black male is clear. I have discussed it a number of times in the blog, and I don’t want to make it seem like this situation isn’t worthy but I think this situation raises a less discussed contradiction.

What is going on in our community when a single mother has no other option but to call the police to help her with a child that is out of control? Where is the since of community that is common among all people of African descent. We as a community in order to survive in a world where we are under constant attack, have to band together. That young man was not only assassinated by the police, but the community as well. We cannot always point to the immediate contradiction for a solution, sometimes, we need to point all the contradictions that created the situation. The contradiction of the police in the community is clear, but the reality of the breakdown in community is reflected vividly in this situation.

A break down in our collective effort is contributing to the demise of our community. We have signs of greatness (The National Black Out Day), but we have to keep our effort sustained. One day of resistance is not enough. In some cases a lifetime may not be enough, but we must be diligent in our effort to see change. Whether that change is at the theater, in the courts, at our jobs, in our community or elsewhere, we have to be proactive in making that change. Apathy is the tool of the oppressor and we ALL must say no longer are we going to fall for this trap.

Marvo

PS I want to send a BIG 11111906 the brothers of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc. On Dec 4th we turned 101 years old. I know some of you revolutionary brothers out there are saying to yourself, Marvo is tripping shouting out those bourgeois Negros. All I have to say to that is check our resume!!! There are tons of brothers among our ranks that have contributed to the benefit of Black folks. Some of which you may agree and others you may not, but what cannot be denied for over 100 years the brothers of A Phi A have been at the front of our struggle. Just check the blog; I’ve been a member since Spring 03. A Phi A doesn’t represent one collective thought, what is collective is our dedication to the improvement of our community and working in the arena that you feel is the best way to lift our community. So I say with pride 111111906!! I want to send a shout out to all the Black “Greek” letter organization, non “Greek” letter organizations, and grassroot organization that have dedicated themselves to the onward and upward progress of OUR community. ’06!

NBD, Noose outside School, Dog the Bounty Hunter, Halloween costumes, and a broken wrist. How can I keep up, when everyday there is a new attack?

National Blackout Day (NBD) was a SUCCESS! All the major media outlets covered NBD, and all of them are trying to figure out how we all knew about the boycott. They assume since they didn’t cover it, we wouldn’t be aware. They are completely shocked that we were able to corral major sectors of the community into one cohesive movement. The internet, text messages, and radio (BLOGS also LOL) all played a major role in getting the information out to the community. I know the white power structure is having a meeting right now, trying to figure out how to combat our ability to communicate with each other. The NBD has the potential to send shock waves to the greater community of Black people. The spirit of NBD was felt from LA to NY. I know many of you may have spent a few dollars on lunch or coffee, but the NBD was on your mind, and that’s the first step. We need to continue to create the dialog, which will create a consciousness that permeates throughout the community. The collective thought of the community is the most powerful expression of our ability to create a future where we will be able to determine our own destiny. Thank you for all that participated in NBD both action and spirit.
Switching gears a bit CNN ran an excellent documentary about nooses last night. If you get a chance you should check it out. Here a clip from the show (http://youtube.com/watch?v=bkqjiXRqvtk ) you can check cnn.com for scheduling in your area.
Since we are on the topic of nooses, check this out. http://img218.imageshack.us/slideshow/player.php?id=img218/8060/11940485279t2.smil These photo where taking across the street from my job. I was disgusted, as I drove into work, that the nooses were allowed to swing from the trees. I found myself even more upset when I was one of the few who was upset about the nooses.
Before I get into my opinion, I want to give you a little back ground on the noose situation in NYC. If you have been reading the blog over the last month you are aware of the climate in the NYC, but if you haven’t been reading there is some info you need to form your own opinion. NYC is a powder keg which will eventually erupt, if (when) the series of events continue to proceed in the matter in which they are currently progressing. There is a serious amount of tension between the community and the police; who at the core and surface represent an extension of the white power structure in every city across America. There have been a number of events where the police have attacked, both Black and Latino young men. The height of the tension stems from the murder of Sean Bell, and the attempted assassination of Juan Guzman and Trent Trent Benefield.
NYC was already on pins and needles in regard to the Sean Bell assissination, before word about the Jena Six began to circulate around via e mail, radio, and BLOGS. The Columbia University noose situation followed the Jena Six rally, and 11 other nooses incidents followed Columbia in NYC. Coupled with the nooses, an off duty NYC police office killed a young Puerto Rican man in a clear cases of road rage (http://www.newsday.com/news/local/newyork/ny-nyrage23vr5428313oct23,0,5078644.story ). All of these situations and many I have not named has all lead to the tension in NYC. The series of events has created an environment so thin that it will eventually snap.
Moving forward to the nooses outside of my school (http://img218.imageshack.us/slideshow/player.php?id=img218/8060/11940485279t2.smil ). I don’t believe that the people who hung the nooses meant any harm. ( I’m sure that the liberal voice inside of me saying that) I believe they where trying to make their home look festive for the Halloween season. I really believe they didn’t think that there actions could create a firestorm in the heart and mind of people that passed their home. What I can’t understand is how they didn’t think that someone may take offense to nooses hanging out side of their home. The fact that it is clear as day to me that someone may take offense, but it isn't to other is scary. This provides evidence that these people are living their lives creating situation, but are unaware of their action. I rather deal with the klan, than that, at least you know what your getting. The people across the street probably view themselves as nice, stand up, Christian people.
I know this sounds like a contradiction, but it’s a futile attempt on my part to rationalize the mind of some white people. For those that may think I’m just over re acting, ask your self what would be the reaction of a Jew if you put a sticker in your car window that displayed a swastika with a heart drawn around it in February in celebration of Valentine’s Day. Both, Halloween and Valentines Day have similar pagan roots, and are not regarded as “real” holidays by most people. Would your sticker cause a reaction of insensitivity and anti Semanticist ideology, or would it be looked at as an attempt to promote the spirit of Valentine’s Day? I believe the answer to that is simple.
The fact that a noose can be displayed in any capacity and we can just brush it off as if it’s nothing is amazing. The symbol of the swastika didn’t kill anyone directly, but the noose killed thousands of Black people. In fact the noose, by many estimations, has killed more people than the Holocaust. Yet the swastika evokes a reaction out of the people that was influenced by its meaning. The reciprocal would be the reaction that the noose creates. Why is a noose any less significant? Why is the demise of Black people any less import than the other? Both the noose and the swastika have a history outside of the people most often affiliated with there use, but the swastika’s impact as it relates to the symbolism that it infers, is much grander than the noose. I don’t get it. Needless to say the nooses where gone after some of the neighbor saw me out their taking pictures. I wonder what happened. I guess the Halloween season is over. We need to take a proactive approach to our struggle in order to combat all attacks, both conscious and sub conscious, on our spirit.
We need to get to a point as a community where we don’t let things like this settle or even happen. If we don’t speak up about these things or think there important no one else will. If you think hanging nooses out side of your house is OK, then every one else will also. If you think nothing of nooses hanging from trees, then your children will think nothing of nooses hanging from trees. We will take initiative as a community, and defend ourselves from attacks both purposely and accidental. Our reaction to the variety attacks may be different, but the reaction that there should be some sort of action will be automatic. Apathy has contributed to the condition of our nation; no longer will we allow this type of inactivity plague our community.
Moving on to something a little more cut a dry. Dog the Bounty Hunter re affirms my position that many white people carry a deep seeded hate of Black people, but hide it in there daily lives. (http://youtube.com/watch?v=5MVjNVI6RzI ) Most white people support the white power structure in ways they don’t even understand, or try not to understand. Dog’s comments about his son’s girl friend are perfect reflection of this reality. How can you not mean to say nigger in a derogatory way, then use it in a derogatory way in the next sentence to explain you point? “I don’t care if she is a Mexican, a whore… I’m not loosing everything because some f*** nigger heard us say nigger”. Listen to Dog try to say that he said nigger, like some Black people use “nigga.” (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u2S85DVq6Kw ) Does Dog sound like he is using it the same, does he really thinks we are stupid enough to believe him? I think his rational behind his comments made me even more upset. Once again the white power structure tries to put the blame for there actions on Black people (see Tell them why you mad Son, Tell them why you Mad from October). He even said that he use to say that he is Black, so he thought it was OK for him to say “nigger”. How? He isn’t half Black, no one in his immediate family is Black, and even if he there where it wouldn’t excuse his actions as a man who is clearly white. He was yelling at his son about not dating a Black girl, because they use nigger in the house. Not nigger in a friendly way (if that is possible), but nigger in the most horrible capacity it could be used. He is now trying to say he uses it like a brother, how many ways can he insult our intelligence. The sad part about it is that some of you reading this will continue to blame Dog’s obvious racism, on some Black people’s use of “nigga”. On a side note according to Micheal Eric Dyson the broader sectors of the Black community don’t use the word “nigga” (at least not in public), in fact the comparison between the two show the number of Blacks that do use “nigga” regularly is a very small sector of the community.
For those that still follow that logic I don’t know what to say, other than I pray you wake up one day. I don’t care what Dog says about how cool he is with Snoop, or how much respect he thinks he gets in the community, or how many time I say nigga in a week, there is no rational argument that can be made that Dog used “nigger” comes as consequence of Black people use of "nigga". I don’t think any logical thinking person can come to that conclusion. My conclusion, as a self proclaimed logical and forward thinking individual, is that Dog is a racist, that just like all other racist, try to find a way to blame their behavior on the actions of Black people. Evidence of this is found in this clip (http://youtube.com/watch?v=Tpy15Gzo1OM). (See The Battle of N's Pt I and II for more on this topic.)
No need to dwell on this one its pretty clear. All those that like to watch the Dog chase after folks, will have to find something else to watch. What disturbed me even more than Dog’s comments about his son’s girl friend, and his attempt justify his comments by saying that he felt he had some sort of respect in the Black community is the comments made by his Negro preacher Pastor Tim Storey. ( http://youtube.com/watch?v=x3uW5hh3cro ) I can’t believe some of the things that come out of the moths of the Negro community. They find all type of ways to defend the white power structure, at the expense of the sanity and the reputation of “us” as a people. I’m sure Pastor Storey doesn’t want to loose the healthy offering that Dog puts down every Sunday, so he is willing to sell himself out to a rationalization that doesn’t make any sense. No one in their right mind should mount a defense for Dog. His comments where clearly racist, and should be taken as such. I don’t care if that was a private phone call, between family members. The only thing that is solidified in my mind is what Dog, and others, feel about Black people is vividly displayed in the phone call. Dog’s inner thoughts about Black people are put on blast in his conversation, and I believe that his thoughts are nothing more than a microcosm of the larger community in which he represents.
For Pastor Storey to say that he hopes that Dog doesn’t loose his TV show, is a sign that he is insane, and he should be exposed for the sellout coon, that he is. I know some of you a saying that my language is harsh, but we can no longer stand for obvious traitors of our community. In order to create an environment of a liberated future we have to shed the dead weight. We have to draw the line of what is, and is not acceptable in our community. (Drug dealers, pimps, etc. etc. are also examples of dead weight) Those that justify or rationalize the comments of people like Michael Richards (http://youtube.com/watch?v=U3RjiVcIlhY ), Don Imus (http://youtube.com/watch?v=RF9BjB7Bzr0 ), Emily from Big Brother (http://youtube.com/watch?v=rlcKmsGzL6o ), Bill O’Reilly or any of the other millions of attacks on our humanity need to be exposed for the traitors that they are.
Moving onto other news, the White House’s Homeland Security department had a Halloween party where they awarded the most creative costume to a man that wore dreadlocks “brown face” and an orange prison outfit (http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/11/06/ice.costume/index.html ). I would normally add a link for the pictures but they removed them from the net, as soon as they become available again I’ll put them up. The award winner wasn’t the only person dressed in racist garb, there were a “few” others that where wearing “racially offensive” outfits. This type of behavior is happening at the highest levels of this government. The people that are in place to allegedly protect America from attack are the ones doing the attacking. I think the award that they gave this guy is a form of terrorism. They released a statement saying that they apologize for the “offensive” nature of the outfit. What about the racist nature of the outfit. He was clearly mocking the Black and Brown community in America. The same people locking us up are the same ones laughing about it in public at the higest levels of this government. What type of attitude do you have to carry in order to think that coming to a “government” party dressed as a blackened prisoner, is appropriate? What kind of mind set do you have to be in order to think giving that person an award would be acceptable? I tell you what mind set you have to be in, the type of mind set that supports the white power structure. The American government has clearly demonstrated over the years which side of righteousness and justice it falls. It is our decision to decide which side of righteousness and justice we want to fall.
The final issue I would like to draw attention to is a situation at a school out in LA. A school security guard broke the wrist of a student, and called her nappy head. The young man who took the video then was assaulted, along with another young lady who was with him. (http://youtube.com/watch?v=DZ4sEX31tyw ) The girl’s mother was then arrested and fired from her job for speaking out against the brutality that her daughter had to endure. There have been some reports that her arm was not fractured, but a deep bruise, I believe that to be beside the point and an attempt to undermine the entire situation. This event is more evidence of the attack that our community endures on a daily bases on all fronts of our life. This security guard, assaulted three students, and attempted to conceal evidence. This is something that I would expect the LAPD to be involved. The security guard handled her similarly to the police officer out in Florida that stop a young lady for being out after curfew (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1sIiFAPYRF4 ). I don’t know how many more examples I have to give to display that we are under attack!!!
As long as we don’t have our own schools, our own police, security guards, our own media we will continue to be under attack, by a system not designed in our favor. We have to build institution where we are able to determine our own future. Until then we will continue to see the white power structure attack our livelihood. We will also continue to see folks like Pastor Storey defend the white power structure, and we will continue to see a government that clearly thinks the condition of our community is worthy of a Halloween costume and have neighbors that put op decorations that reflect our demise.

Marvo

Don't Let Them Fool You. We are in this Fight Together!

Another noose was found in NYC. This recent incident marks number two for Queens, and number nine for the NYC area. (http://www.nydailynews.com/news/2007/10/24/2007-10-24_noose_found_at_ozone_park_in_queens-1.html ) The count is increasing, and the tension in the city is reaching a boiling point. Malcolm Gladwell wrote a book titled The Tipping Point, the term tipping point refers to the moment when something unusual becomes common. The book seeks to explain "social epidemics" or sudden and often chaotic changes from one state to another. When the smoke clears and historians look back on this time period, I believe they will write that 2007 was a tipping point. 2007 will mark the tipping point for Black people, and other disenfranchised and oppressed people in America and around the world.
Jobs are few and far between, schools are under performing, housing prices are increasing, prison population rising, and there are nooses popping up all over the country. We have another Clinton running for president, a Black guy that has an imaginary shot at becoming president, a Mormon who is a top candidate for president, and a president whose brother is the governor of the state with the highest concentration of the ills mentioned above, who by the way is rumored to be running for president in 2012. The direction in which we tip will be determined by our actions. Tipping to the side of justice, equality, and self determination is essential to the future of Black people. Instead of letting the pendulum tip, the climate today can lead one to the conclusion that we will have to knock the whole apparatus over.
I’ve been going back and forth over the last couple days trying to find something interesting to write about. There has been plenty issues that pissed me off (Dog the Bounty Hunter, I'll get to that latter), but I don’t want to turn the blog into my personal diary. Periodically, I may go off on a tangent, but I’m going to TRY to keep the blog in an atmosphere where it gives analyses around issues that affect our community.
One issue I found interesting was a story I heard about the Black Cherokees. The relationship between Africans and Native Americans is as old as this continent. There is indisputable evidence that there where Africans in the America’s prior to the European infestation… of disease. Evidence of the African presence comes by way of the Olmecs (http://www.essaysbyekowa.com/olmecs.htm ) in Mexico and South America, and the Moors (http://members.tripod.com/pointingbird/lostfeatherintl/id64.htm , http://members.tripod.com/pointingbird/lostfeatherintl/id60.htm ) who traveled west to the America’s in search of trade. Another indisputable fact of history is that the overwhelming majority of Africans that became intertwined with the Native Americans came from run away slaves. The Marons of the Caribbean are but one example of Blacks that escaped from slavery and settled with the Native American that lived in the mountains of Jamaica. The examples of this phenomenon can be given in any area where Black people and Native Americans where found. The relationship between the two communities has historically been good, but not perfect. (http://youtube.com/watch?v=_txH0HJMIYU , http://youtube.com/watch?v=ry27Q_Nfzk8 , http://youtube.com/watch?v=jmoep-XtGfU )
Many Native American tribes, who where under constant attack by the Europeans, still found it necessary to help their Black brothers and sister who escaped from bondage. It was relatively easy for Blacks to blend in with the Native Americans because many in the Native population have blood of the Africans who traveled to the Americas hundreds of years early. Many Native Americans are also full of melanin, independent and subsequent to their African roots.
There were some Native American traitors that fell for the trap set by the Europeans, contributing to the carnage of the European in the Americas. I think it is important to make it clear that in no way is this sub section of Native Americans a reflection of the over all population of indigenous people. Some Native American fought in the Civil War, along side the Confederate Army. There where a number of Black soldiers that fought on the Confederate side of the Civil War as well, supporting the conclusion that they where manipulated into their traitor behavior, but that’s another topic. (http://www.civilwarhistory.com/slavetrade/blacksoldiersCSA.htm ) It is also important to note that the ending of slavery as an institution was a foot note to the Civil War, not the catalyst. The war was primarily about the new industrial standard versus the old agricultural standard, but that another topic also.
Another forgotten fact of history is the fact that the Native American tribes that sided with the white power structure owned slaves, both African and indigenous. The European use of Native Americans as slaves was a short lived Spanish system, called encomienda, which is another little known fact, this is where they learned the European version of slavery. (http://historicaltextarchive.com/sections.php/sections.php?artid=633&op=viewarticle ). The Buffalo Soldiers where a group of Black soldiers who for all intents and purposes assisted the white power structure, in moving the Native American population off their land. (http://www.nativeamericans.com/BuffaloSoldiers.htm ) Many Blacks praise the Buffalo Soldiers for being the first Negros to fight as American soldiers. But, among some Native American populations they are seen as traitors just like the other Native Americans who sided with "pale faces", and in my opinion rightly so. My intent in raising these points is to high light the fact that the African and Indigenous struggle against the white power structure is long, intertwined and complex. Some of our history is has lead to helping each other, and some has lead to the others demise. Regardless of our past, in the end we all have been victims of the white power structure. The European called Blacks niggers and Native Americans fools all in a attempt to take away our humanity. An organized front of resistance, and an eventual dismantling of the white power structure is necessary. This destruction of the white power structure will need support from all sectors that have been victims of its oppression.
Malcolm X’s speech The House Negro versus the Field Negro remains true to this very day, (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=znQe9nUKzvQ ) as it relates to Black, and the Native American populations. There is a sector of the Cherokee Nation that believe they are part of what they call the Five Civilized Tribes. These forces have adopted European customs and norms and are clearly operating in the interest of white power. The have turned their back on their members, and have specifically decided to ostracize the Black members of the tribe, also known as Freedmen. The Judicial Appeals Tribunal (JAT), the Cherokee Nation's highest court recently ruled that the law not allowing descendants of Freedmen joining the Cherokee Nation is unconstitutional, thus they should be allowed to join and vote as legit Cherokee citizens. This ruling has been challenged and during the challange period many Black Cherokees are being forced to re apply for Cherokee citizenship.
The only reason this vote was even raised comes as a result of the Cherokee Nation receiving federal gaming funds. The profits from these funds are then allocated to services that are provided to members of the nation. Certain sectors of the Cherokee Nation wish to create amendments barring Black Cherokees from their portion of these allocated funds.
The division in the Cherokee Nation has been evident from as early as the Civil War. The Cherokees had a civil war between different factions of the tribe in regard to the issue of slavery. The fact that there is a sector of Cherokees that believe calling themselves the “Civilized” tribes as acceptable speaks volumes about the mental assault that went on amongst their community. The white power structures assault did not end with Africans, but also played a major role in the demise of the indigenous population of America. This reality manifests itself in the insane and self hating behavior of both Indigenous and Black people.
The oppressive nature of the white power structure has resulted in the debate raging in the Cherokee community. Chad Smith, (an unusually European name, might I add) is the Principle Chief of the Cherokee Nation. Notwithstanding the fact the he looks like a white boy, and has more European blood than indeginous blood, by some accounts(http://www.chadsmith.com/SmithIntro.htm ), he and his cohorts have banned together to expel its Black members who have indigenous and non- indigenous blood (Some of the Black Cherokees come from the time of the Trans Atlantic Slave Trade, others are a result of the intermarriage between Black and indigenous people, and others come from the African presence in America prior to the introduction of Europeans.) There are Black members of the tribe that have more indigenous blood than the Chief Chad Smith, yet his membership is not being called into question. The motives of white power supporters in the tribe are clear and should be exposed for what they are, traitors and supporters of the white power structure.
The division that the white power structure is causing in the Cherokee Nation can be seen in a variety of different capacities. The white power structure plays us against each other constantly. They keep us poor, uneducated, and fighting over the crumbs that they throw at us. The economic interest is evident in the fact that the citizenship of the Black Cherokees was not called into question, on a grand scale, until the gaming money became an issue.
Black and Mexican, Puerto Rican and Dominican, Cuban and Haitian, the list can go on and on in the area of divisions created by the white power structure. (On a side note Latinos have also had battles in the past with Native American tribes about there citizenship, which is completely ridiculous because the link between Native Americans and the so called "Latino" population is extremely clear in most cases) The white power structure has effectively played each of us against each other, when we should be focusing on them. They get away with this practice because we don’t see each other as one people. One people affected by the same power structure that has lead to the oppression of all of us. We all have the house “negros” that side with the white power structure. Blacks got Condoleezza Rice, the Mexican had Vicente Fox, and the Cherokees got Chad Smith. (I could continue naming people, but that would be pointless) Independent of the traitors of their respective communities, we have to make an effort to create a mind state where we are clear who our enemies are, and that enemy is the white power structure and all that show it support. Not the Mexican, Dominican, West Indian, El Salvadorian, or African family that moved in next door, but the white power structure that put us all in a state of desperation.
The plan that the white power structure has put in place in order to ensure its survival has caused enough carnage over the last 400 years. The fact that the Blacks and the Native Americans are fighting over the scraps that the US government is throwing us is pathetic. Both groups are poor and desperate for a life line. The sad part is that we can’t see that we are our own life line. Blacks and Native Americans have been in this fight together since day one, and we will be in this fight together until the end. Folks like Chad Smith only represent a small portion of the masses of people. When the masses rise people like him will try to hide behind there white power rhetoric, but we as a community will be ready and the people’s justice will prevail. Tipping or knocking the pendulum of history BACK in our favor.

Marvo

The Battle of N's Pt II

Correction: Nas' album will not be titled "Nigga", but "Nigger". It makes no real difference to the conversation, but I wanted to make that correction from the Battle of N's Part I.

The conversation around the “N” word has caused much debate and healthy conversation. I ran across some information that may shed more light on the topic. In my original post I said that the term nigga comes from the Spanish word negro. I was only partly correct. The Spanish word for the color black also has a history that I was not aware of until now. Below is information taken in pertinent part on the topic of the infamous "N" word.

"Thou shall not take the name of the Lord, thy God in vain," is one of the ten commandments, yet, the racist term "Nigger" a derivative of the original name for God, "N-G-R"(pronounced "Net-ger") is continually used and taken to insult. The term "Nigger" has its origins in the sacred and divine title for "God," and came from the Egyptian WORD FOR GOD. That word is "Net-yer" or "Net-ger" from which the English terms "nature" and "nurture" came from. The idea of God being nature and nature being God, comes from the African and Egyptian idea of what God is which shows down to the similarities in the terms used to describe aspects of the Godhead.

The ancient Egyptians called their Pharaohs "N-G-R" (Net-ger) because the Egyptian Pharaoh was seen as a representation of the sun and the Sun God. The original Pharaohs who were pure Black Africans SAW BLACK SKIN AS SACRED AND A DIRECT BLESSING FROM THE SUN GOD, ATEN. In fact Blackness and black skin became associated with God and the sun. BLACK PEOPLE WERE POWERFUL, CULTURALLY ADVANCED, MILITARILY SUPERIOR, BLACK/DARK BROWN IN COMPLEXION, STRONG STATURE, TALL AND DESCRIBED AS A "HANDSOME" RACE , (SEE HERODOTUS, "THE HISTORIES, DESCRIPTIONS OF "ETHIOPIANS" OF AFRICA AND SOUTH INDIA).

The recognition of the Pharaoh as a living God and the black skin as a blessing spread worldwide to other cultures. In fact the term "Net-ger" became the Ethiopian "Negus" or "Negashi."

The term "Ngola" (Angola) means "King" in the Angolan languages. This term was mistaken by the Portuguese to mean the DESCRIBE "Ndongo," the kingdom.

The first people to corrupt the term "N-G-R" were the Roman invaders of Egypt who may have heard the term used to describe the leader of Egypt or Nubia. The term "Niger" was later used to mean any Black/Negroid person that the Romans saw in Africa or anywhere else.

The Romans colonized and spread the Latin language to Europe. Due to this linguistic influence, the Latin term "Niger" became "Negre" in French and "Negro" in Spanish.

The English colonialists and slave entity borrowed the term "Negro" from the Spanish. The term for Black people in England before Shakespeare was "Moor" or "Black-a-Moor." The English slave owners degraded and defiled the entire name by turning the Negro into a slave and turning the original term "Ned-ger" or "God" into the racist term "Nigger." One can say that they have insulted the sacred name for "God" and have oppressed the original people created by God. This phenomenon is due to their sense of inferiority.

http://africanamerica.org/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/19370808/m/2301023941

I find it interesting that the sub conscious of the youth have taken a word back to its root in an obscure way. Is it a coincidence that the Bastards of the Party have begun to call the finest marijuana Cush? Is it a coincidence that some of the dances created by the youth are very similar to that of Africa? I don’t think so, I think their minds have suffered the worst type of torment, resulting in a twisted sense of reality. Yet, they still find ways to get back to their root. The sad part is that there is no one to explain this to them. Consequently, they grow up and become adults, with a world view similar to that of a kaleidoscope. They need to be educated around this information, instead of being criticized and blamed for every thing under the sun. Nas calls himself the "N". The letter "N" is one of the most important prefixes in many African languages, and dialects that have arrived from those languages. The letter "N" is also the word that denotes any title pertaining to human beings. In fact in Bantu or Niger-Congo and Cushic languages, the letter "N" is found as the first letter in many names. For example the name "Ndaba," = "consil" while the name "Ndabaningi" is the first name of Africans in region thereof. In short, Nas has a plan around his album, but he hasn't been given an opportunity to present his material. Read the lyrics to I Know I Can, http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/nas/ican.html . Nas is very familiar with the theft of African culture. We were robbed, and many of us refuse to take what is ours back. The white power structure has done a number on the minds of all of us. It is our responsibility to engage in a process to take our minds back.
Stolen Legacy, by George GM James, speaks in large detail about the theft of African culture. The information provided sounds similar to the reality discussed in James’ book. I would suggest that all of you do more research around the topic In order to come to your own conclusion.

Marvo

PS

I changed the settings to allow anyone to post to the blog. You no longer have to be a member of Google. Let me know if it works without a log in.

PSS

This is a story about the EIGHTH noose found in the NY area, this is the most recent, this one at a high school in Brooklyn. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/23/nyregion/23noose.html Another noose found in GA (http://www.politicalgateway.com/news/read/109913), tied around the neck of Tupac, at the Tupac Amaru Shakur Center for the Arts. This didn’t get much press, I guess because he was a rapper. Most people don’t know about this Tupac http://youtube.com/watch?v=KM6MwXZ84gc or this Tupac http://youtube.com/watch?v=5gRlnxSey2s. All they know about Pac, is that he was a rapper, and according to most people that means criminal, misfit, drug dealer, etc etc. They fall for all the same BS the media spits about young Black males. I say Pac is a N-G-R of my generation.

I'm smarter than what you look! Why Jim Watson is an IDIOT.

Ok folks, time for another round of the world according to Marvo. I first want to start with the police. There have been a couple of mishaps that are clear evidence of the role the police play in our community, and their connection to the white power structure’s struggle to maintain it’s existence.
In Chicago there was a gentleman that was sodomized with a screw driver by two officers during an alleged drug violation. (http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-screwdriver_alloct17,0,6801143.story?coll=chi-elections-utl) The young brother was not in possession of any narcotics, for all of you that may need some sort of assurance that the young brother didn’t bring this assault on himself. I think it sad, that some of you may need this kind of assurance. Some of you may think the sad part about me is that I wouldn’t care if he had a kilo of coke in his trunk, raping someone with a screw driver is ridiculous and in human.
Another sad note is that the cops didn’t receive any jail time, but the courts did award the young man 4 million dollars. I don’t know if you can put a price tag on taking a man’s manhood. I guess the police are keeping up the long tradition of the white supremacy system attempt to steal the manhood of Black men. Remember the plunger incident by the NYPD, what about the castration of Black men during a lynching? It isn’t a far stretch to understand that the incarceration rate, the level of police brutality, and the over all antagonistic behavior toward our community by the police as an institution, not necessarily as individuals, is an attempt to squelch the spirit of the Black male, and the community as a whole. This case out in Chicago is an extension of that history, and just one of the millions examples that could have been referenced. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abner_Louima & http://www.usm.maine.edu/crm/faculty/jim/Lynching.htm) On a side note I guess cops have resulted to doping in order to keep up their job (http://www.newsday.com/news/local/newyork/ny-nycops185419226oct18,0,4276079.story ). I wonder will this be all over the news like they did Marion Jones. But, I digress.
Today’s main topic is dedicated to a story that I read on one of the major news outlets web page. (http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/europe/10/18/nobel.apology/index.html, http://www.theage.com.au/news/in-depth/race-hate-and-dna/2007/10/20/1192301099165.html ) The story is about Jim Watson, the individual involved with “discovering” the double-helix structure of DNA. DNA is the part of ones body that contains the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms. Understanding the role of DNA in relation to Jim Watson and the “discovery” of the double helix is essential to the conversation.
Jim Watson represents the upper echelon of the scientific wing of the white supremacy structure. These individuals are charged with the responsibility of scientifically justifying the annihilation and oppression of non white people. This reality is not an over exaggeration and their existence has repeated it self time and time again throughout history.
The attempted extermination of the indigenous population of America is an example of this occurrence. Thomas Jefferson, one of America’s forefathers and premier scientist (he is primarily known as a statesmen, but also was a scientist), engaged in a genetic experiment dedicated to the removal of the indigenous population from America In an attempt to prove that the indigenous population had smaller brains and where genetically less intelligent than whites, he would kill members of local tribes, then measure and weigh their brains. His experiments in relation to the indigenous population of America resulted in domestic legislation. The so called Trail of Tears, (http://www.powersource.com/cocinc/history/trail.htm ) is a prime example of the domestic policy of Thomas Jefferson put into practice based on conclusions he made during his experiments.
Jim Watson’s scientific conclusions fall into the same category as Thomas Jefferson’s, potentially and currently have the same affect on public policy. Watson won the Noble Prize for his work in genetics; he is a world renowned scientist and his opinion on topics influence the science world in a huge way. His opinion about Blacks, reflect the opinion of the white power structure, and policy will be reflected by his opinion. Watson is by far not the first well known scientist to come to the conclusion that whites are intellectually more astute than Blacks. In 1994 Charles Murray, a historian, and Richard Hernstein, a behavioral psychologist published the Bell Curve. The Bell Curve argued that Black people, on the whole, are of lower intelligence than whites as a whole. (http://www.indiana.edu/~intell/bellcurve.shtml ) I could give hundreds of example of whites making this claim.
I believe that the white supremacy structure focuses on the topic of there genetic superiority, to the degree in which it does, in order to justify their brutal maintenance of the world in which they created. If you convince the public that Blacks are genetically inferior to white, then it becomes easier to create an environment where the white power structure can oppress others. (Most specifically, Black people, who have the most dominate genes on the planet, consequently making Black people the number one threat to the white power structure.) It makes it easier to wonder if the young man in Chicago was guilty of a crime before the cops sexually assaulted him. It makes it easier to ask yourself if Sean Bell and his friend were shooting at the police, which resulted in the police shooting their car 50 times. It makes it easier to blame the incarceration rate on the “bad decisions” of young Black males. It makes it easy for a family to sit around the table at dinner time, watch the news and hear the thirty innocent people in Iraq where killed, and think nothing of it.
The mistruth of genetic white superiority is also designed to make you feel as though, one personally, is inferior to whites. Many people inside of their own mind, consciously and subs consciously, have been convinced that white people are superior to their own existence. Consequently, they accept the oppressive reality in which they live. It makes it real easy to not care that little Tyrone's teacher believes from the first day of class that he is incapable of doing the work because he is genetically incapable of absorbing the information. The subtleties of this reality have ramification in every sector of our lives. WE NEED TO TAKE THIS CONTROL BACK!!!!
The white power structure has created a world where Black people are looked at as savages. To a large degree, Black people look at themselves as savages, based in the reality imposed on them by the white power structure. This entire train of thought has been contrived by the white power system, in order to maintain its existence. They understand quite clear, that if they don’t maintain this level of mistruth, their existence, GENETICALLY, is in jeopardy.
I don’t make this argument with the implication that Black people are genetically smarter than whites. I believe all individuals have a capacity to learn given an environment where their potential is allowed to develop properly. I do not believe that this development can happen among the masses of Black people and other people of color as long as the white power structure is allowed to continue its effort to maintain itself. Many whites support the structure, consciously and sub consciously, resulting in their loyalty to the structure, which in their mind maintains their existence: socially, physically, emotionally, economically etc. That doesn’t mean that all white people must cease to exist in order to stop this process, it simply means the structure that currently has the world under its control must end. This must happen in order to properly introduce a world where the equality of all humans is able to be maintained. Many people: white, black, brown, yellow, and green, will fight to the death to avoid this from happening in support of the white power structure.
Jim Watson comments simply reflect the consciousness of the white power structure as a whole. The fact that he won the Noble Prize deepens my belief that the white power structure is a live and continuously trying to find way to insult our intelligence, end our existence, and continue to oppress Black people all over the world. I believe we need to defend ourselves in a world where we are constantly being attacked, a world where the alleged “highest level” of academic thought, plainly states that Blacks are less intelligent than whites. This is a system that we all need to be working diligently to dismantle; all of our effort should be concentrated on creating a world where we can exist without attack. A world where we have the power to establish freely our own future.

Marvo

The Battle of N's Pt I

I have been kind of busy the last few days and haven’t been able to write as much as I would like. I really don’t have much time today, but there are a couple of issues I would like to write about. The first two issues are relatively brief, and will be expounded upon future blogs. Issue number one: there was another noose found in NYC. The third noose was found at the post office near ground zero. (http://www.newsday.com/news/local/newyork/ny-nynoos1013,0,779650.story, http://www.wnbc.com/news/14326081/detail.html?rss=ny&psp=news ) This is the THIRD noose incident in the NYC area in the last month. NYC is becoming more racially charged by the day as the Sean Bell murder trail gets closer, the racial tension is increasing. I think the concentration of noose incidents reflect the consciousness of many white people in NYC. The consciousness of many white people in NYC, times the disenfranchisement of the Black and Latino community is going to equal a peculiar situation for New Yorkers in the very near future. On a side note if you look at this clip http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/sns-ap-columbia-noose,1,1351457 at the very end the media guy tries to imply that the noose at Columbia University may have been put there by one of the "non- white" faculty members at the teachers college. This sounds eerily similar to the fourth person story the media tried to float around after the murder of Sean Bell. There was also a noose incident in the Chicago area (http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=local&id=5701065 ) the madness is spreading!!!
Second: Mychal Bell has been sent back to prison (http://www.dogonvillage.com/blogs/african_american/archives/33-Mychal-Bell-of-the-Jena-6,-sent-back-to-jail-for-prior-charge.html ) The POWER that initially caused his released needs to be sustained in order to properly allow justice to transpire. The white power system down in Jenna and all around the world is in full gear, we also have to be in full gear in order to combat the insanity involved in this situation and others.

Now for today’s topic…

The word “nigger” evokes emotion in the hearts and minds of Black people. The word historically, in the Americas and beyond, has been used to express hate for a race that has been deemed, in many circles, inferior. The institution of racism has contributed greatly to the impact this word carries and creates fervor among people when it is used. Before we get into the dialog I want to make a couple of references:

A. When I write “nigger” I am writing about the racial slur
B. When I write “nigga” I am writing about the slang word
C. When I write the “N” word, I’m referring to both “nigger” and “nigga” simultaneously

As I was reading a popular Hip Hop website today I ran across an article that said Nas AKA The “N” (not N word, just “N” for the first letter in his name) is going to name his forthcoming album Nigga. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_odC1tYHmw&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fnahright%2Ecom%2Fnews%2F ) For those of you that are not familiar with Nas, he is arguably the most socially conscious and influential rapper within the last ten years. Although recent media outlets have slammed him for his title, they clearly are not familiar with his music, because if they were they would understand that Nas wouldn’t name his album Nigga, out of ignorance. The media assault on Nas further deepens my understanding that “they” just don’t get. But I digress.
After reading the article I thought it would be a good idea to explore the use of the word nigger v. nigga. I think to move forward as a community we need to examine whether nigger and nigga are the same word, do the words carry the same meaning, should the either word be used at all, and how we as a community can more forward as a whole around this issue.
The NAACP recently held a mock burial for the “N” word at their national conference. No disrespect to the NAACP, but they haven’t connected with my generation at all. In fact they often represent views contrary to what I believe to be the proper stance on certain issues, I’m sure my sentiment can be echoed by many. This disconnect is demonstrated clearly by Jessie Jackson and the NAACP’s response to Nas’ album title. Jackson said “The title using the 'N' word is morally offensive and socially distasteful," Jackson said via a statement. "Nas has the right to degrade and denigrate in the name of free speech, but there is no honor in it. Radio and television stations have no obligation to play it and self-respecting people have no obligation to buy it. I wish he would use his talents to lift up and inspire, not degrade, making mockery of racism," he added. "We will not support and we will not continually be assailed by other individuals who want to use that type of term in our presence," stressed national NAACP spokesman Richard McIntire. "This has gone on long enough".
How can you be familiar with Nas’ music and claim that you represent the masses of Black people and think that Nas would do anything but up lift and inspire Black people? Is the use of the “N” word in any capacity wrong? Nas may very well be trying to make a prolific point, but he has not only been immediately attacked by the media, but by some Black folks as well, namely the NAACP.
No disrespect to Dick Gregory, but he wrote an excellent book titled Nigger. Dick Gregory was a comedian, and has served our community as a social activist for years. Does the same connotation around Dick Gregory’s autobiography, exist as it relates to Nas’ album title? NO! The question I raise then is why not? Nas’ is a musician and a social activist as well. The only difference between the two, is that Nas is a part of the “Bastard of the Party/Hip Hop generation”. This explains why, before Nas has the opportunity to explain his position on his album title, he is being attacked. The disconnect between groups like the NAACP and sectors of the Black community is clear. The white power structure will use this division to further, manipulate and control our community. Jackson and others should be ashamed, that they are contributing to this reality!!
A very good friend of mine completely disagrees with the use of the word nigger, nigga or any other variation of the “N” word. She stands whole heartily against its use. She stands on the grounds that the word is degrading to Black people and, most importantly, our use of the “N” word opens the door for its use to white people. She doesn’t buy the most recent separation of nigger v. nigga and believes that using either variation of the word is a sign of hatred, whether it is self inflicted or external. She believes it is a contradiction to say that “we” can use the word, but white people can’t. She also argues that the use of the word by Black people today shows a complete disregard for the struggle that many of out forefathers had to bear in our interest.
My good friend is not alone in her distaste for the word. There are whole organizations dedicated to the abolishment of the “N” word in all forms (http://www.abolishthenword.com/ ). I believe that all the individuals who take this position have a righteous point of view and should be encouraged to complete their goals and objectives. My only concern is the motivation behind, why certain organization and groups take such a hard line position. The same shackles that are said to be on the minds of people, who use the “N” word, may have the same grip on individuals working to abolish the “N” word, depending on their motivation.
I grew up in a world influenced heavily by Hip Hop. Hip Hop is the voice of a generation post the Civil Rights Movement, and post the Black Power Movement. There is a very interesting documentary on HBO about this generation of Black youth called the Bastards of the Party, the documentary highlights the experience of the youth that live in the aftermath of both historical time periods. (http://youtube.com/watch?v=JOPp-Y0AupE ) The Hip Hop generation took words like bad, fresh, and cool and changed it to meet the culture. Nigga as opposed to nigger doesn’t fall into the category, completely, of words just mentioned, but it has definitely been embraced by the “Bastards of the Party”. (see earlier blog The Church is as much to Blame as Hip Hop for a more detailed explanation of the Hip Hop generation)
Many born in the Hip Hop generation have taken the position that it is acceptable for Black people to say nigga, but if a white person says it, in any capacity, the line for a fight has been crossed. This point is clearly demonstrated in white rappers who would never use “nigga” in their lyrics for fear of backlash from their fans. The Hip Hop generation claims that they have taken a word that was NOT created with the intent to degrade Black people, and made it into their own. Some argue the word nigger comes from the Spanish word negro, which means black, not necessarily Black people but simply the color black. The word Negro became a term used to describe Black people, similar to Caucasian for white people. White Southern’s couldn’t pronounce the word Negro properly, and eventually settle through accent on nigger to describe the African slaves. Through the white peoples usage of the word negro, negative stereotypes have developed over time around the word nigger, resulting in the feelings around the “N” word today. Because of the recent history (Trans Atlantic Slave Trade forward) of the word nigger, many have come to the conclusion that white people simply cannot use this word. This conclusion also applies to the new usage and spelling of the “N” word, nigga.
I don’t think it is completely ridiculous for today’s generation to come to this conclusion. The “Bastards of the Party” understand quite well that white people can do anything they want on this earth. The same youth also understands that most people of color cannot do what they want on this planet, due to the influence of the white power structure. The sentiment of the youth is also reflected in the broader sectors of the Black community. Ask any one on my block what would happen if a Black man or women was elected president. 9 out of 10 people would say that he/she would be assassinated. I’m sure this is not only the truth on my block; I’m sure this same understanding is true in most neighborhoods around this country.
Based in this reality I believe some Black people have come to the conclusion, both consciously and sub consciously, that the use of the word nigga is one thing we can do, that white folks cannot. I believe this to be a POWER move made by the “Bastards of the Party”, independent of them realizing this or not. That same resistance can be found in the ass whooping those young men in Jena put on that white boy. I’m sure those young men didn’t know they were fighting for POWER, but they were.
Many white and Black people cannot understand the concept of seizing POWER. They say things like “There is something that white people can’t do? Why not, we’re all equal aren’t we? Why can you say it and not them/us? What’s going on, I’m confused!! You guys are saying that white folks can’t say nigga, but you can? How can this be?”
These reactions show me that many people cannot remove themselves from the white wash that has transformed their mind. The NAACP and Jessie Jackson are victims of this phenomenon, based by their reaction to the title of Nas’ album. I am not saying I agree or disagree with using the word nigga in any capacity, or that I agree or disagree with Nas’ naming his album Nigga. I’m simply stating that if we shouldn’t use the word nigga, a better argument needs to be made than, because we say it, white folks will be more inclined to say “nigga” also. This argument states in short, if Black folks want white folks not to use the “N” word, we shouldn’t use it either. I think that this conclusion is ridiculous, and has the potential to create deeper misnomers of disunity in our community. If you listen to this interview about Nas (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_odC1tYHmw&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fnahright%2Ecom%2Fnews%2F) the commentator clearly says, “I thought their was a memo stating that ‘we’ wont be using this word anymore.” Where does this we come from? What we have decided is that you can’t say the word, and we will continue to have dialog in our community around whether or not we will continue to use the “N” word. My not using the “N” word is not a prerequisite for white folks not using the word.
In NYC there is a neighborhood in Queens, named Howard Beach. Howard Beach is infamous for its treatment toward Blacks, and their upfront racism of their neighborhood, as it is related to anyone who is not white, and specifically Italian. Outside of the racist undertones that exist in the neighborhood they openly use the terms “ginny” and “guido” in reference to each other. Both terms were created as an ethnic diss to the immigrant Italian community. No other group of people would dare go into Howard Beach and call an Italian ginny or guido, without expecting a fight. The broader sectors of the Italian community may not use ginny or guido, but they understand the strength of their community won’t allow anyone else to use the terms. I’m not trying to compare the historical framework of ginny and nigger, it is quite clear that nigger has a longer, deeper, and more inhumane history than ginny. I make mention to this situation in order to bring forward the argument of community reaction. Our reaction to the “N” word is splintered, not because a sizable percentage of us use the word, but because we feel we have to justify our usage of the word, to “them” the white community at large. This is a backward logic, in my opinion.
Many will rebuttal my argument by saying that the history of the word as it relates to Black people is so deep that using the word in any capacity revisits that era. My answer to that would be I agree. I would go on to say Black people’s greatness reach far beyond the length of time that white folks have been referring to us as niggers. Making the above mentioned comments about the history of the “N” word, in my opinion, belittle the strong history of the African presence and spirit. Does that mean that white folks should be allowed to use the “N” word in any capacity, whether it is friendly or antagonistic? Absolutely not! I believe that it speaks volumes if the African community stood firm in the position that regardless of whether we choose to use the word or not as individuals, you cannot use the word any longer. And in the event that you do use the word, friendly or antagonistic, you should be prepared for the repercussions.
I wrote in “Tell Them Why You Mad Son, Tell Them why you Mad!”, an earlier article on the blog, that one thing that pisses me off is the fact that white power structure tries to find any way to blame their hatred for Black people on Black people’s behavior. I want to extend that to say that it pisses me off that some NEGROS defend the white power structures, hatred of us, on Black people behavior. They almost make it seem like, “You see, you guys use the word”, this is why they hate us so much. You are degrading yourself by saying nigga, because that’s what white people used it for. Like it is impossible for us to use nigga the way we want too. To reiterate I’m not saying that we should say nigga, lets find a better reason why we shouldn’t. Power is what the white power structure is all about; you start taking the power away from them, even if its something as simple as a word, you will see them get up in arms. The sad part about every time we try to take some power away from the white power structure we got NEGROS who defend it!! Hopefully, one day, both ends of the conversation will understand that we have a bigger problem out here than beefing with Nas.

Marvo

An informed Community is a Ready Community! The tragedy in West Virginia and why we didn’t know.

I have been trying to wrap my mind around the attack in West Virginia for a couple of weeks. It was hard to get information on the topic initially because it got very little press in the national media. I didn’t want to write about it until I got all my facts together, and could properly facilitate my opinion on the matter. For six days these people raped and beat a young lady named Megan Williams. When I saw the faces of the people who did this I couldn’t help but think devils. http://blackandmissing.blogspot.com/2007/09/megan-williams-tortured-by-6-people-for.html click link and scroll down to see their pictures.

When I look at these people I see nothing but pure evil. One of the guys looks like Timothy McVeigh, the guy that killed those people out in Oklahoma City. If I had to put a face on the devil, it would be one of these six, and if not one of these six I’m sure he/she would look similar to the bunch. Maybe a little more cleaned up, with a middle name like Walker, I don’t know, just trying to draw a picture here.

They pulled this poor woman’s hair out of her head, sexually assaulted her, made her eat rat dropping, and forced her to drink from the toilet, these are just a few of the horrendous things that made the news. I’m sure the reality of the week long ordeal was much worst than what was reported in the papers. Between the six of them, they have had 108 criminal charges filed against them. That equals about 18 charges a piece, if you do the math. It baffles me how these people where even in the “free” world anyway with that type of history. The most serious of the crimes committed was murder. Frankie Brewster only served five years after pleading guilty to manslaughter. How she pulled that one of is beyond me, but once again only in America, where white power reigns supreme, can white women get of with five years for killing someone with a public defender after 17 other charges.
This story got very little publicity, around the same time Michael Vick and Isaiah Thomas were on the cover of every news paper in New York City. Where are the priorities of the media? I know where the media priorities aren’t, and it’s not with reporting about incidents that affect our community. ( Not that Vick and Thomas don’t affect our community, but I believe their situation got light years more press than this.) We need more and have a few of our own media outlets that cover the news from an angle that affects us.Sites like http://blackelectorate.com/, http://blackamericaweb.com/, and the http://www.colorofchange.org/ (website primarily responsible for getting the information about the Jena Six out to the community) are good examples of media outlets that reflect the well being of the community.
I don’t mention these sites because I agree with all of the politics that are on the sites, often time I disagree. But, the site do serve as a launch pad to deepen my understanding around something I may have heard in the news.

I’m sure if the six faces looked like this http://www.nbc6.net/news/9740757/detail.html

they would have been all over the news. Can you imagine if one of these brothers was dating a white girl, they break up, and weeks later his family kidnaps her? After kidnapping her they pull out her hair, make her eat rat droppings, sexually assaulted her, called her cracka for a whole week, and had been arrested 108 times between them what the media would be saying? I don’t have to draw a clearer picture than that. Meagan Williams is the victim here, but we all should feel violated by the lack of coverage this issue received.
We need to have our own media outlets so that we can stay connected to each other. I need to know about an issue if it happens out in Chicago, St. Louis or Houston. And, you guys need to know if something happens out here in NYC and we shouldn’t have to wait for CNN to report it to figure it out.
The seven gentlemen shown above represent another case that has received absolutely NO media attention. These brothers have become known as the Liberty City Seven (http://www.rawstory.com/news/2006/Methods_questioned_in_investigation_leading_up_0629.html) . These brothers have been charged with trying to blow up the Sears tower and a Federal building in Miami. If you know anything about Miami Florida, you know Liberty City is the poorest section of the town. There’s is no liberty in Liberty City Florida. These men where so poor they couldn’t afford boots, the also where borrowing water from their neighbors. How are they going to blow up the Sears Tower if the don’t have shoes, and can’t afford water. By some standards they may be considered a little extreme in the position they took, but not terrorist. There is tons of evidence that says there was no talk of any senseless behavior like terrorism, until the FBI came around. The story doesn’t make much since, it sounds like the FBI tried to set these brothers up, to make it look like the government is fighting terrorism on all fronts. If these same men that are being charged with a crime as serious as sedition, get no press, but would have been front page material had they done the same thing to a white girl that was done to Meagan Williams, we have a problem. I would say a state of emergency.
How about the young lady in Florida who was got man handled and punched in the face by a police officer. She is fifteen years old and got stopped by the police for being out after curfew and this happened. ( http://www.videonewslive.com/view/123313/police_pepper_spray_teen ) Why is it that most of you haven’t seen or heard about this? Not because you don’t watch enough news, but because the mainstream media doesn’t cover issues like this. We have to keep ourselves informed in order to make informed decisions about the world around us.
These are just two example of information that we as a community need to know about, but most of us don’t. The white power structure tries to disconnect our power by keeping up blind to information that will create movement in the community. The community in which they served is well informed about issues that affect them; we have to continue to build an environment where we do the same. We are headed in that direction, but we need a lot more. West Virginia is not an isolated incident; neither is the Liberty City Seven, Jena, Columbia University, or the other thousand issues that have plagued our community in the last four months. As the winter gets closer the assault keeps coming, we need to be in a position to move when we need to. The rally that went down in Jena was powerful, the immigration rallies that our Latino brothers and sisters put together last year was powerful. We need to support each other and make sure our power is concentrated so when it time to move we move as one.

Marvo