Who Let Dem Dawgs Out?

One would assume that I am ready to bash the brothas. C’mon! I can’t do that. I won’t do that. After all, I am a brotha. And we carry enough blame for our people and this country. You can always blame it on the Black guy. Perhaps, you should know that I am my brother’s keeper. I don’t mind making a correction. We should check one another, for it is impossible for us to love ourselves or our people while posturing with indifference. Rap (not Hip Hop) has pocketed the baton from think thanks designed to destroy any efforts of deprogramming a people suffering from post traumatic slave syndrome.
The public would assume that Black men are irresponsible due to silly and unpolished entertainers with no regard for the community. Somehow, most believe that no one will see them as role models when they are actually begging for attention. Someone is watching and being influenced by learned idiosyncrasies.
What role does our woman play in uplifting our children and our men in need – our families? Has our woman abandoned us? What do we need for her to affirm her love for family? It is evident that our children suffer without the man, but our women have not neglected their responsibilities entirely. Yet, the presence of the man is necessary. And obviously, the suggestions of society that promote disloyalty, neglect, promiscuity and deceit should be dismissed by Black men.

Do We Need Another Black President?

As the Republicans and Libertarians search for someone to replace the current president the Democrats continue to convince the people that Barack Obama is what the people need. Negro pundits seem pleased having a talented tenth type negro in public housing. I don’t care how many days President Obama has served. It is obvious that little has changed. He has it made, while negroes around the country simultaneously salute him and struggle.
President Obama is an exception to the presidency. He got swagger! Dude plays ball, talks tough, speaks well, got a cool walk and a fine woman. C’mon – admit it. However, the ‘hood ain’t Hollywood. African-Americans have issues that a weed, a saxophone, suspended predatory lending and a few houses from a humanitarian group won’t solve. And parading Michelle before us is not sufficient. The proof is in the put in not the pudding.
True, he has inspired some individuals to dream and achieve. But truth be told, said persons had vacated blackness prior to Obama’s ascent and utilized his dream to justify stepping on the backs of Blacks that bowed in awe. We can grade the brotha. Bill Cosby has proven that Black folks watch television and he periodically makes his complaints known. However, it is time that some of the negroes desiring the preserve the negro identity realize that thangs don’ changed! It ain’t all good. Amerika needs to know that those most in need are not pleased with anyone who looks like them who can’t seem to recognize the need to improve the conditions of a downtrodden, disenfranchised, marginalized people. Slavery did some irreparable damage to the psyche of Black folks. One can claim to be indigenous, but the damages are still evident. One could consider themselves Native and compare their conditions to those enduring life on the reservations.
It is obvious that Obama doesn’t make all the decisions. It is clear that if he fails, we fail. Sadly, the we he speaks of is not Amerika, but Black folks and highfalutin negroes who could not die without having a Black representative be held responsible for the crisis of Amerika. C’mon… you eventually gotta come black. As for the future candidates and wannabes – don’t say you will do what you have no intentions of doing.

My God, Where Art Thou?

Jamal could have had no idea of what Jennifer was thinking as they danced, slurped diaquiris and envisioned one another naked. Before long they walked toward the exit as if they’d known each for months. They were inseparable as they kissed and groped. They wanted each so badly that they debated the idea of leaving Jamal’s car at the club.
Sunday morning came and Jamal awoke at the sound of Jennifer dressing and humming. She was late. Sunday school and service were paramount and the youth choir was scheduled to sing. Jennifer was quite the songstress. After all, she had spent the last few hours chanting “Oh God, Oh God”, while sweating, smiling and grinding. Who knows if she was faking? More importantly, when you consider the mind of the average, colonized negro the thought of god must be addressed.
In Amerika religion is pushed from Kindergarten propaganda and nursery rhymes (Mary Had A Little Lamb) to the pulpit. Courthouses, fiat money, billboards and people espouse a concept of god that obviously benefits those in control. God can’t possibly love the meek and humble. Nobody does love, meekness, humility and compassion like negroes. Meanwhile, devious acts continue as greed and selfishness take precedence over thy neighbor.
Black Leadership seems to do little for the dilemma, because we are being taught to look out opposed to within. That is, until one of the leadership is bribed into convincing the majority that the oppressor is not to blame and that we are responsible for our current state despite having endured slavery, Jim Crowism and ignoring Jamie Crowism.
Blacks close their eyes and imagine a white god coming to save them when the white god’s children are mistreating them. When will it become apparent to negroes that we empower the wrong god? Hell, we even empower the wrong people. C’mon people - don’t let the psychological experience continue as it is. Neither government nor the chosen god has been compassionate or beneficent to the needs of Blacks. And one cool negro living large doesn’t solve the ills of a nation even if you are satisfied with the appointment or feeling better about yourself. Get rid of the rocker or get off the rock, but by all means, do differently.

Buying Black, Giving Back!

If we began to list the things that Black people don’t like or don’t do, the list would be long and exhaustive. Hell! Blacks don’t tip. They don’t skydive. They shy away from rock climbing. Of course, they aren’t particular about Country music. They don’t like their meat raw and bloody. They aren’t Nascar fans. Blacks avoid the extreme heat. They aren’t crazy about cold weather, either. We could go on and on and we’d find a Black or Brown face doing or liking what we have been led to believe they wouldn’t. But what bothers me is the idea that Black folks don’t like supporting Black businesses. The numbers are small or else we’d pull resources to create jobs and at minimum, employ our women.
It is common knowledge that a high percentage of mom and pops stores, owned by Blacks, are expensive and under stocked. Perhaps, this fact coupled with post-slavery trauma syndrome and the Willie Lynch theory makes buying black a difficult task. We have seemingly been conditioned to accept abuse, disrespect and poor service from community invaders who know that the Black dollar is a spent dollar. And of course, we gladly spend with outsiders despite their intentions to only suck money from our communities. Well, efforts are being made to educate Blacks about spending within our communities. I recall Warren Ballentine rallying his listeners to participate in a National BlackOut in 2007. And of course, the Andersons have committed to spending an entire year buying black. At a glance I would not have imagined it. I now understand what my jegna meant by not being quick to judge.
Somehow, we must learn to love, trust and appreciate ourselves and just maybe – we can love those who look like us. Please, take a page from the Andersons.

baz moreno

Weave - How Many of Us Need Them?

As I entered the gentleman’s club the music quickly allured me. Sounds that a man should only dance to when alone convinced me to grab a seat and get a drink. And though it is rumored that a woman has to look a certain way to entertain men, age has pulverized that myth. So, I sipped on a cranberry juice, while screening the room and allowed the smoke, cologne, perfume, adrenaline, hormones and sweat to blend into one enticing concoction. I had refused a few dances before I saw what I liked and ordered another cranberry juice. At any moment the beautiful, well sculpted, video babe type sista would make her way to me. Besides, she had studied me since I had sat down. Hell, this is why I was there. Not for excitement. Not even for sex. C’mon – they’re called strip clubs and I appreciate the slow, seductive movements of temptress, on occasion.
At any rate, the vixen shimmied into my life and we immediately cliqued. Her hands braced against my shoulders as she periodically whispered things in my ear, teased my lips with brushes of her breast and swept her hair across my face. I quickly thought that an ambience of jazz and less calculating movements would be more suitable for a woman of such beauty. So, I arranged to meet her later. Yeah, we met, but over the weeks I would learn more about the pressures of beauty, image and living in Atlanta as I discovered that the beautiful woman with the long tresses was the average sista with identity issues.
Atlanta has a variety of women with an assortment of hairstyles. Sadly, not all of them are wearing their own hair. More importantly, not all of them need the wig, extension, clip-on or weave, either. For various reasons, they each cover, adorn or alter their natural crown for a look that suggests that being a Black woman may be just as tough as being an employed Black man. Mind you, white women do alter and extend their hair, but it is less noticeable, unexpected and unforeseen. One would wonder why a white girl needs weave when sistas getting weave are mostly choosing straight hairstyles, because white hair is perceived as better and/or good hair. And of all the things that a white girl may put on or take off, few expect hair to be a concern. Words like nappy, kinky or bad hair only add to the dislike and confusion contained by self-hatred. Of course, so-called Black publications only exacerbate the identity crisis with pictures of straight haired, light complexioned or bleached skin sistas.
No doubt, we all have been conditioned by the media, but there is no scientific evidence to suggest that the damage done to our psyche cannot be reversed, obliterated or reprogrammed. Nah, it won’t be easy. Moreover, it is not difficult to love a natural sista with natural hair. Somehow, we have to learn to love who we are and ascertain that our women know that we love them as they are.
As for the dancer-friend, she wore she of the most expensive and deceptive hair on the market. To this day, I think she showed me the hair to get me out of her life. :)

At Afrika, Again?

Amerika – the land of opportunity. Not much milk and honey at the moment, but plenty of bullets. Not much bread but plenty of money to make use of ammunition that has not been spent. Imagine Amerika without her make-up. This is the image you should keep.
Amerika has more than 700 military bases strategically scattered around the world. She is so ready to do war that she divides the world into military commands. Afrika is not exempt from this action despite her compassion, beauty and humbleness. As a matter of fact, Bush created an US African Command in February of 2007. Remember, the war on drugs in Amerika became the war on terror as other ethnicities learned that Amerika might’ve been tired of harassing Black folks. Well, Amerika had to be fascinated with heavily melaninated individuals as she decided to continue any and every war in Amerika that could handicap Blacks and too, fight terror in Africa and protect the oil resources. Of course, a negro general was put in charge. Hell, who knows negroes like negroes? Who is in control of Afrika? The questions must be asked?
Amerika utilized Black thought to become a beautiful, capitalistic, chauvinistic, maniacal, avaricious, inconsiderate nation. Afrikans were brought to Amerika to be enslaved, no doubt. Black and Brown bodies of intellect, diamonds have been stolen and continue to be taken. Today oil is what Amerika needs. And oil is what she gets. Surely, Amerika continues to handpick, educate and influence gullible Afrikans for future use and coups. I guess Amerika has learned that when you can’t go anywhere else - you can go home. Oops! She did it again. She made Afrika unattractive to negroes in the US and Afrika, just so she can have her way. The people must know that if Amerika has her way, we all will be homeless.

Don't Trash It, Paint It White

As a boy I knew how to look at a white woman and what not to say. Public schooling made certain that my exposure to anglos, via the female, instilled respect for authority. And authority was usually white.
I quickly learned that there existed differences in the treatment of whites versus everybody else. I also learned that white stuff was prettier, colder, hotter, nicer, smarter and of course… more uncouth. So, taking advantage of Black folks was easy. Besides, in those days most negroes would denounce anything black before disagreeing with anything white because that in a sense was like denying their Lord. Therefore, when it came to questioning anyone resembling their lord – abuse was all good. In the negro’s mind one argument with authority could prevent entrance into heaven.
Every television minute and magazine cover seemed to bring something to the heavily melaninated mind that made self-hatred inevitable. Surprisingly, my generation has birthed children that overlook history or our story and openly admit their preference or infatuation for today’s snow bunny. Some clowns rap about anticipating little anglo girls becoming of age. Obviously, a waste of studio time. Even if it does sell. Lips, hips, and big asses on white girls are deemed more attractive to the programmed negro mind. The idea of extensions, weave, wigs or clip-ons never enter the negro’s mind, because white folks have “good hair”. And of course, negroes gladly accept less than qualified anglo women to mother and educate Black children. And even in the case of no children, negroes send out a message that suggests the Black woman is not beautiful enough, smart enough or worthy of the Black man’s love.
Sure, the anglo woman has changed anatomically and we do have a Black president, but better choices can be made in terms of love, preservation of legacy and the future of our communities. Negroes continue talks of civil rights and the movement, but it is apparent that most have trashed any inkling of familial traditions and heritage to support and love the worst of their master’s flock. This is progression? Wow! TV has done a job on us! C’mon, you can do better.