The Negro Intellectual

Beats, Rhymes, and Life: Not a Documentary, But An Irresponsible Disservice

2011-07-18T09:46:00.000-07:00

Recently, I had the chance to view Beats, Rhymes, and Life: The Travels of A Tribe Called Quest, the new documentary directed by actor Michael Rapaport. You’ll likely remember him from his roles as “Zack” in Zebrahead (1992); “Remy” from Higher Learning (1995); or from Spike Lee’s film Bamboozled (2000); where he portrayed “Mr. Thomas Dunwitty,” the racist, self-centered, and egotistical television producer who believed he knew black people better than they knew themselves.

Like most folk my age who love hip hop—the culture and the music — I have an affinity for what A Tribe Called Quest (ATCQ) brought to our lives. For a self-professed “brainy jock” (cool term for nerd who played sports) like myself, ATCQ was part of my life’s soundtrack. I distinctly remember when each album dropped and what I was doing when the day I purchased it. All five albums mean something different to me—though some are better than others. Like most fans I can have an intense debate about why I believe The Low End Theory was the masterpiece of their discography vs. Midnight Marauders, much in the same way folk argue over sports or politics. Thus, it was with the greatest anticipation I went to see Rapaport’s documentary.

I entered the theater like a Star Wars or Harry Potter fan—all decked out in my ATCQ gear, rocking my Midnight Marauders tee and a super fresh pair of Air Jordan Retro Ones that were dedicated to the group (my most coveted pair of sneaks). I sat down ready to see what I hoped was a reliving of some old musical memories and a telling of Tribe’s story by another fan—Michael Rapaport. Unfortunately, from the very outset of the film Rapaport shows his hand. He is out to sell the story of family feud and personal beef. The documentary begins by looking at the rift between Q-Tip and Phife—an unfortunate, sad, and self-serving mistake.

As a historian, this is a mistake I’m intimately familiar with and must always be cautious of in my own writing. As juicy as personal details are, one always has to resist the temptation to allow them to drive the analysis. Why? Because history is not about sensationalizing subject(s). When that occurs it ceases to be history and becomes tabloid-esque sensationalism. For instance, many have critiqued and criticized the late Professor Manning Marable for his recent biography of Malcolm X entitled, Malcolm X: A Life of Reinvention. Scores of folk find Marable’s scholarship slanderous because they believe he is sensationalizing aspects of Brother Malcolm’s private life. I’m not saying exclude private details or conflicts, because they are important, but they should not be the driving force of the story you tell.

Documentarians face a similar challenge. Like historians, they have to be able to provide a narrative that explores the nuances of their subject without allowing them to overpower the larger story. A good documentary should leave the viewer with a fuller understanding of the inner workings and outside influences that inform why this subject’s story is worthy of telling. It is not about taking sides, but providing a three-dimensional view of your subject matter.

Q-Tip and Phife’s relationship, or the complex nature of it, is no secret. It has never been. Any fan has known that for years. We all have family issues. We all have functional levels of dysfunction. Those issues however, do not have to be put on display to understand how the persons in that family interact. Instead, Rapaport seems to have let his fictional character “Mr. Dunwitty” take charge of directing.

It was great to reminisce about A Tribe Called Quest, but Mr. Rapaport did Q-Tip, Phife Dawg, Jarobi, Ali Shaheed Muhammad, and hip hop a disservice. What he directed is not a documentary. Sensationalized, with a few moments of welcome nostalgia for fans like myself, it is a patchwork quilt of a film —more akin to reality shows on the family of Viacom networks.

Part of the problem is Rapaport’s use of external sources — or lack there of. I found it incredibly odd that he used not one journalist or scholar that could capture the broader implications of what the group was able to create and the indelible mark they left on hip hop and popular culture. Hell, I would have even liked to hear from fans on the street giving their reflections of the group during their 1990s reign.

The absence of journalists from The Source, VIBE, or The Village Voice from that era is at the very least irresponsible. During the late 1980s and the entire decade of the 1990s an argument can be made that journalists were just as integral to the development and analysis of hip-hop as the artists themselves. Their insight, even on a small scale, would have been a great supplement to artist interviews and help to contextualize the Native Tongues Movement.

One of the gross missteps of the movie, and my biggest critique, is that Rapaport did not devote more time to the most important thing about ATCQ — the music. More time should have been spent examining the five albums that A Tribe Called Quest created. What Rapaport gave us was akin to making a documentary about The Beatles that focuses solely on the deteriorating relationship between Paul McCartney and John Lennon. If Rapaport set out to make a film about Q-Tip and Phife’s relationship, then mission accomplished. If the goal was to make a documentary about A Tribe Called Quest, then it is a miserable failure.

"I'll Always Love My Mama"

2011-05-08T12:49:00.000-07:00

Music tends to be the one thing that can always serve as a muse for me, but I guess that is what music is supposed to do in the first place, right? As I went through my usual Sunday morning ritual of reading newspapers and simultaneously watching CBS Sunday Morning, I had one of those special moments. I don’t know and can’t remember what the context was for the song, but I heard The Intruders’ 1973 classic, “I’ll Always Love My Mama.”

Immediately a flurry of emotions and memories went through my mind. I’ll get to those in a minute, but it was great that on Mother’s Day the first voice I heard and spoke with was my own mother, Norma Mitchell. I tried to wait to call until I thought she might be up, for I didn’t want to disturb her, not today or any day this week, as her birthday was just 72 hours ago. The first week of May tends to be a celebratory time for my family—celebrating "Mama."

Though our conversation was brief, as Mama was rushing off to church, it was just what her son needed as he prepared for his own day of engaging in the life of the mind—as a graduate student. My mother and I have, since I’ve been in graduate school, been closer than we’ve ever been. At my worst and best moments she’s continually been the warm, reflective, calm voice to my erratic, tense, anxiety-filled existence during my academic sojourn. From kindergarten to what will soon be three graduate degrees later, she helps me keep perspective and peace--in mind and spirit. I don’t know how, but she does.

Now about those memories I mentioned earlier…my mother is a nurse and I will never forget her working a twelve hour shift then coming home to prepare dinner, take a few moments to sit down as my father asked how was work and a low rumble erupted from her mouth almost inaudible, but you definitely could sense the tenseness of her day. Afterward she’d make sure my sister, then a toddler, was in bed and then she’d look at me and tell me it was time for flash cards. I used to cringe when she mentioned those flashcards. I would deliberately eat my dinner slow to take my mind off what was coming after I finished.

Now, let me tell you that those damn flashcards were the bane of my existence—an anathema to my spirit a kid. You remember those multiplication cards? I’m sure you do. My mother would drill me over those cards until I had them memorized. As I would start to get tired and irritated wanting to just quit and go to bed, she pushed me. Tears would well up in my eyes out of frustration. I wondered to myself, “Why was I being subjected to this harsh treatment?” Of course it wasn’t harsh, but it was maternal dedication. My mother was still in her uniform from work as she continued to drill me. Once we finished she gave me a hug that only a mother can give her son and it all in some weird, but marvelous way, in my young mind seemed worth it. It was.

As I started high school my mother was the one who would wake me up after I had fallen asleep at the dining room table—exhausted physically from basketball practice or work. She’d nudge me and I’d wake up from under a Calculus, Chemistry, or some other book I was now using as a pillow and tell me to go to bed. Such moments are what filled my mind as I heard the Intruder’s tune this morning in a flash.

Yesterday afternoon, I had to make a pretty big professional decision and the person I called immediately was my mother. Just like when I was young she gave careful insight as I contemplated my next move in life. The anxiety I felt subsided and I made my decision. I tried to reach out to some of my mentors and professors, of which I was only able to speak to one. His first words were, “What did your mother say?” After hearing that I knew that once again my mother was still the awesome woman my father married and the mother that I still marvel at. From making decisions about school to the most mundane things, I’ll call in a second to get her advice. I guess in writing this I forgot about my mother’s love of music, which is the reason I started to write in the first place. It is through my mother that I learned to love music too—she introduced me to everything from Earth, Wind, & Fire to Beethoven, The Beatles, Aretha Franklin, Al Green, Patti LaBelle, Santana, and ironically enough The Intruders. My mother is simply amazing and I am glad, thankful, proud, and humbled to call her “Mama.”

I still hate flashcards though.

It's Bigger Than Basketball: Intra-race Class Antagonisms & Public Discourse

2011-04-11T12:05:00.000-07:00

March Madness has finally come and gone, much to the bewilderment of college basketball fans like myself. Lost in the hype over what have been thrilling upsets and just great basketball (except for the Championship game) is a controversy of former college basketball greats, Michigan’s Jalen Rose and Duke’s Grant Hill. A couple weeks before the NCAA “Selection Sunday” the passionate responses of two former college basketball superstars took center stage in two of the most widely recognized newspapers in America: The New York Times and the Wall Street Journal. The opt-ed pieces were written after the fallout from the ESPN documentary the “Fab Five” which was produced by Rose, whose comments about Hill, cascaded into a firestorm of opinion pieces and uncomfortable moments on camera and in print.

In the immediate aftermath, ESPN analysts and contributors—white and black, struggled mightily to make sure not to say the wrong thing in this war of words, because of the racially charged nature of the comments. Most failed to grasp the bigger issue at hand. Michael Wilbon, co-host of the popular ESPN show, Pardon the Interruption, and long time sportswriter, came the closest to addressing the so called elephant in the room, though well written, his take on the events following the airing of the documentary missed the mark.

In the documentary, Rose reflects on his days as a Michigan Wolverine and says that he saw, Hill as an Uncle Tom. This term has held a certain weight amongst black men going back to the Civil Rights Movement, and even before that. The term usually is directed at a black man of a perceived higher class status that for all practical purposes has sold his soul to enjoy the creature comforts of the market, all while still dependent upon white tolerance of him socio-economically. The Uncle Tom ridicules and despises himself and those that look like him, and takes every opportunity to remind his white patrons how “loyal” and “good” he is to the maintaining of a subjected and indeed peculiar social order.

In one of his most famous speeches “The Field Negro and the House Negro” Malcolm X builds on this legacy of the ‘Uncle Tom’ by giving a history lesson of sorts where he explains the caste differences within slavery. He sees the mentality of the Uncle Tom as a contemporary manifestation of an older psychology of self-hate found in the characteristics of the house and field slaves. I am inclined to agree with Brother Malcolm.

During the height of the transatlantic slave trade there were slave catchers who were themselves forced into bondage by Europeans, just like the captives they hoped to bring to the Western African shores. Even though these slave traders went on to endure the punishing and most dehumanizing aspects of the Middle Passage, they still saw themselves as better than their fellow bondsmen and bondswomen because of their practiced faith or the social status they had back on the continent. Those are beginning of his divide that is only whispered about mostly. However, during the early 1980s art, in the only way that it can approached the subject with care and poignant critique.

One of the most memorable scenes in the 1984 film, A Soldier’s Story, is an argument that later leads to a fight between the characters Sergeant Waters (played by Adolf Caesar) and Private First Class Peterson (Denzel Washington). The fight erupts after the very demeaning way that Sgt. Waters spoke to another soldier that Peterson sorely objects to. Peterson defiantly asks the question of Waters, “Hey, what kind of colored man are you?” Slowly turning around, the sergeant coldly responds, “I’m a solider Peterson. The kind of colored man that don’t like lazy, shiftless Negroes.” The “Sarge” goes on to say, “And, if it wasn’t for you southern niggas whitefolks wouldn’t think we was all fools!” Angry as hell, Peterson mockingly rebuts, “Where you from, England?” The scene and the film are indeed a classic. Not just for the acting in it, but also for the issues it addresses. What I love about the film is how it highlights the issue of intra-race class antagonisms.

Humans have always found inventive ways to distance themselves from each other based upon fleeting notions of faith and perceived class status, not to mention gender and sexual orientation. What gets lost in the faux divides we have created is our shared suffering. The slave traders were too blinded by their ethnocentric religiosity and weak minded thoughts of superiority that they failed to see their common plight with those they captured. Contemporarily you can see this same thing occurring with poor whites that vote against their class interests for the sake of preserving and participating in a ‘whiteness payday’—meaning that the psychological wage of whiteness will one day pay them in full and the blessings of capitalism propped up by racial, gender, and class inequality will reward them for their race loyalty.

Thus, the “Uncle Tom” comment by Jalen Rose is not simply just him tapping into his thoughts as 18 year old Detroit kid upset with the hand dealt to him by life. Nor is it just mere fuel for his fire on the court. The comment is just another tacit illustration of the continued intra-race class divide that has existed in the African American community before the Fab Five and unfortunately still exists today as Grant Hill’s eloquent and off the mark New York Times piece reinforces.

In the final analysis, Jalen Rose made one of the best documentaries I have seen in a long while. It illustrates how in the wake of the Rodney King beating and verdict, the Fab Five came to symbolize the expressive aspects of African American youth culture in very real and salient ways that redefined the way we saw ourselves both on and off the court.

The documentary ultimately is an opportunity for African Americans to have some real and meaningful discourse about our continued intra-race class issues, and I’m glad to see scholars like Duke University’s Prof. Mark Anthony Neal open up this dialogue with others (via his show Left of Black). Unfortunately, far too many of us are caught up in the nomenclature of disrespect birthed from Harriet Beecher Stowe’s novel to deal with the real issue at hand.

He Was One of Us

2011-01-19T09:49:00.000-08:00

Over the past few days we have been bombarded with images and videos of Dr. King, from his “Normalcy, Never Again” (“I Have a Dream”) speech, to his final public address, “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop.” However, I was surprised to see an image of King making its rounds on the internet (via Twitter) that I had not seen in a long time. The photograph is of King preparing to take a behind the back shot at the eleven ball during a game of pool. From the photo, it looks like he knew what he was doing—this definitely was not the first time Dr. King had held a pool cue in his hands. In reading the comments of those who tweeted and re-tweeted (RT) the photo, many had never seen this particular image of the famous civil rights leader. As I started to follow discussions about the picture, most people really just hinged on how cool it was to see a picture like that of King in that setting, or some mentioned things about the artistry of the photograph. I looked at it, remembering the last time I saw the picture and I began to think about it differently.

As a historian, I am trained to always think about context when it comes to the writing and indeed the telling of history. In that regard, context is what helps us to understand any historical moment or key figure. Nothing in this world occurs in a vacuum, so it is important to understand the story behind any event, a person’s life, or as in this case, a snapshot of that life.

The background or context of the photograph is best discussed in two parts. One, how did the picture come to be and two, how did King seem so comfortable around a billiard hall in the first place? We are talking about one of the most recognizable faces in the history of the twentieth-century, are we not? After we have context, it’s important to ask the question, “Why is this relevant?” What does a picture of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. playing pool tell us in 2011, especially on the commemoration of the 25th anniversary of the King holiday?

The photograph in question was likely captured while King was in Chicago in 1966. King was in the middle of a game with fellow civil rights activist and Chicago native, Al Raby. King and Raby were in the midst of an anti-slum crusade on Chicago’s Southside.

During my research for this article, I also found another picture of Dr. King playing pool. This one was of him in a community center in Philadelphia, Mississippi. The year was 1964, the Freedom Summer campaign was in full swing and at the time, there were three civil rights workers missing. King had come down to Mississippi to see what was happening with his own eyes. Unfortunately, the missing workers, Michael Schwerner, James Chaney, and Andrew Goodman were later found murdered. These were not the only two times that King had played pool or visited a bar. He learned to play the game while an incoming student at Crozer Seminary in Chester, Pennsylvania. There, in the basement of the chapel was a recreation room that consisted of three pool tables and a shuffleboard court. By the time he left Crozer and matriculated at Boston University to pursue his doctoral studies, King was a pretty good pool player. This explains why he looked so comfortable around a billiard table in the photos.

We now know the context behind a pair of photographs of King. These pictures are not the typical shots of him in a pulpit, or leading a protest march, or some photograph of him in deep thought, like you see on any number of posters, paintings, and book covers. So what can we learn from these pictures? Why should we care, outside of them looking ‘cool’? They are important because they give us a tacit example of King’s humanity. Too often we exalt him into a place in our collective consciousness or popular memory that makes him inaccessible in some way. We often deify him as a martyr. What should be emphasized is that at the end of the day, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., was simply a man. His ability to play pool should only remind us of our shared experiences as part of our larger kinship ties—the brotherhood of humanity. When we make King a martyr we also conveniently make him so “great” that he doesn’t even seem human. Dr. King had self-doubt; he had joy and pain in his life, just as we all have had. Placing King on a pedestal makes it easier for us not to be accountable to each other and to society as a whole. We begin to say to ourselves, “I can’t do what he did. I’m just a regular person—I’m can’t be Dr. King.”

When you see the picture of King playing pool do not view the image just as a historical moment, but see yourself in the photo. See Dr. King as not just a leader, but as a man. King showing up in the pool halls, bars, and community centers was not just an attempt by him to see the people or connect with them; he was one of them—and by extension one of us.

What Does Democracy Look Like?

2011-01-18T15:30:00.000-08:00

This latest blogpost was taken from a collection of tweets I rattled off in the immediate aftermath of the Arizona shootings. Due to the number of responses I received, and after some careful thought, I compiled my tweets (and a few responses) into an essay of sorts. I’ve edited the tweets as I thought was necessary and also cited some of my “Twitterfolk” in this piece. I look forward to hearing any comments you may have.

With the recent shooting of congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, I ask the question, “What does democracy look like?” We tend to think of America as the bastion for this system of government, a true personification of the Greek dēmokratia. It is easy believe in the myth of “American exceptionalism” this notion that we are unlike any other nation before or after us. Thus, as the protectors of this system, our government historically has been the champion of making the world safe for democracy. That in mind, an even better question, posed by @NvrComfortable was, “What does our democracy look like?” That is something to consider. What does American democracy look like? At this moment we need to seriously analyze our so-called democratic republic. When fear mongering, ignorance, and hate are allowed to fester like a diseased wound, there are disastrous consequences for us all. When faced with a tragedy such as the Arizona shooting, it tends to bring out all the fringe aspects of our political culture who unfortunately hold even more fervently to warped ideologies of hate afterwards.

Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords pleaded with her fellow Americans in March of 2010 after her offices were attacked in Tucson, Arizona. “It’s really important that we focus on the fact that we have a democratic process, “ she explained. We need to remember that. Now, six people have lost their lives and twelve others have been injured. This was not the time to start spewing more incendiary rhetoric, as some have. That is how we got into this mess in the first place. This is not a Left or Right issue, it is in fact an American one. We need to understand that this is serious. People have lost their lives, and for what?

WORDS HAVE POWER
Some, like @vast_lyte, optimistically urged those of us who speak out to “Stay the course...compassion and sympathy even for a lost life will bring out even the weakest of wolves to try and feast.” Others bear witness to these events through mediums that have always provided an outlet for our frustration and collective pain—art. In this case, music was the art form. I was reminded by Professor Will Boone (@afroblew), of Jay-Z’s “So Ambitious” lyrics, “How many guys u see make it from here/they don’t like us, is that not clear?” Yes, “they” don’t like “us”. “They” are the small minded and willfully ignorant. The “us” are those who love justice and have the capacity to speak for the voiceless. The latter must be able to ensure that we have meaningful discourse, and not let virulent points of view force us into the shadows of our national political dialogue. We must embrace our differences and find places that illustrate our common bonds. On December 18, 2008, President Barack Obama explained why he selected Pastor Rick Warren participate in his inauguration. He mentioned that although they did not see eye to eye on certain social issues, “we have to be able to create an atmosphere were we can disagree without being disagreeable and then focus on those things that we hold in common as Americans.”

During the 15th anniversary of the Oklahoma City bombings, President Clinton asserted, “The words we use really do matter…There’s this vast echo chamber, and they go across space and they fall on the serious and the delirious alike.” Now a congresswoman has been shot. I agree with blogger @AverageBro, who stated, “I don’t care what side of the political/ideological line you reside on, there’s NEVER any reason to kill anyone.”

I wish we demanded as much accountability from the purveyors of fear, ignorance, and hate in politics as we do hip-hop artists and athletes. When we live in a society where a coward like Tucker Carlson can say that although he’s a Christian, he wishes that NFL star quarterback, Michael Vick, should have been executed for his crimes against animals, there is a problem. In a pitiful attempt to explain his comments Carlson said he “overspoke.” That is about as empty as any time he’s tried to provide political analysis on television. When we speak about hip-hop artists, when isn’t there a time where we begin to hold them accountable? Pick any popular artist and I’ll show someone who is upset that they have not taken responsibility with the art they create.

Do you hear Dr. King’s words of caution from his “Beyond Vietnam” speech? I do. In the beginning of that historic address, King repeats the slogan of the Clergy and Laymen Concerned About Vietnam, “A Time Comes When Silence is betrayal.” King said that it inspired him to speak out against the greatest purveyor in the world that he knew—the American government. In that same spirit, we can no longer can sit by idly and wait for the mainstream media, bloggers, or even someone on social media like Twitter to speak out against hate filled socio-political rhetoric. I use the term “socio-political” because truly the words we use affect not only our political culture, but the social fabric of the democracy as well. The time to speak out against those who recklessly use their bully pulpits was yesterday.

STOP BEING COMFORTABLE
Democracy only works when we ALL participate. There is no final victory in democracy. Never. Yet we continue to forget that. Particularly when you are part of the dispossessed population, freedom is a constant struggle. If you don’t believe me ask those men, women and children that marched across the Edmund Pettus Bridge on March 7, 1965.

Dr. King warned us in 1967, and especially in 1968, that people of ill will use time to their advantage. Folks of goodwill get pacified thinking, “We won!” It is a mistake to think in such a way. Contemporarily, we need to look no further to the election of President Obama for an example of misguided thoughts about “victory.” Yes, it is a great win, but there is still work to be done. King implored, “We must use time creatively, and forever realize that the time is always ripe to do right.”

The Rev. Dr. Gardner Taylor, the greatest living Christian preacher, once told me that “we cannot control our circumstances, but we are called upon to respond—that, we can control.” The time to respond is at this very moment. The immediacy of now is that those persons of good will must act in a way that is sustainable and empowering.

Even me writing right now, and you reading my words, only fills part of the void. We talk about the work that needs to be done and only few respond. That will not work. Don’t be fooled by those who say they “marched with King” or “were beside Brother Malcolm.” One of my mentors always says, "If all those people were really with them as they claim, they would still be with us today." It is always easy to say what you would have done, or to make martyrs and political heroes of the dead. We must move beyond that. There must be a demonstration of our collective frustration and anger that can be manifested in building coalitions. I’m not talking about a rally on the mall with a comedian and a group of musical artists of goodwill (not that there is anything wrong with that), but to deal with this problem and many others it is going to take much more effort.

LIVING THE AMERICAN REALITY
I guess I’m really talking about movement. A movement of artists, intellectuals, teachers, lawyers, students, working-class folk, everyone who claims to love this nation, needs to show that America is not solely defined by an extremist group of political and religious fundamentalists, but real folk raising families and living their lives.I’m speaking to those folks that are hardworking and committed to living in a place where they are not governed by fear (private/public)…a place where folks are allowed to express themselves freely and not at the expense of someone else’s dignity.

To be clear, I’m not trying to conjure up the rhetoric of utopianism, but I am speaking of a nation that values its citizens collective humanity—that respects our histories, no matter how tragic they are…a nation that doesn't replace "nigger" for "slave” in an attempt to erase or sanitize its history. The nation that I am referencing explains and values our context.

We need to break away from this antiquated notion of the “American Dream.” I live an American reality. I don't want a damn 2300 sq ft house, a dog, a nice lawn, etc. All that was a fairy tale we were sold over the past three generations that is built on the devil of debt. I don't need 2.5 kids and a "good job”! My America is a place where there is a respect for our humanity and the communal nature that has sustained this planet long before any of us were born. The evils of materialism, racism, and militarism were once thought to be the biggest threats to our democracy.

We could also add sexism, homophobia, and countless other 'isms' to that list. They each have fragmented this country into hatred and confusion in every state. Add to this volatile mix an uncertain economy and you have a recipe for socio-political disaster. Those of us who know and understand what is happening to the nation tend to be more concerned with the new sale at the Gap, than a missing black girl, like Phylicia Barnes and why she is not getting that “Natalee Holloway” type of coverage.

My America is better than any of this. My America sees color and values it. It sees gender and celebrates it. It sees sexuality and respects it. We must decide and decide now, what kind of nation we want. Very soon there will be no warnings. No MLK speech to read. No twitterfeed to inspire us. No Youtube link to reference. No rally to attend. No book to read. We must transform and do it now, starting with self. I'm not saying we have to all sit and agree...I hope we never all just "agree" on everything. A nation thrives when there is a range of opinion and thought.

NEVER GIVE UP
We must be able to have discourse. The value of human kind is our diversity of experience and out actions that speak to that experience. Our ability to think and think critically is what separates us from "beasts of the field". However, in our current state some of us act like lower level beings. We tend to be more like wild dogs.

We are not wild animals. However, when those of us choose to engage in behaviors that are analogous to feral monsters we must speak out and act. Ultimately, America will be what we make it. I emphasize the “we” in this context. Coveting the “I-ness” of individuality does more to destroy society and we must reclaim the “we-ness” in order to preserve this union. If we allow the actions of a few destroy this nation that is our collective fault.

As much as I critique this nation...as much as its history angers me...I refuse to give up. I hope you won't either. Let our thoughts and prayers be with Rep. Giffords and the other families affected by this horrific tragedy.

DOCUMENTARY: "I Am a Man: Dr. King & the Memphis Sanitation Strike"

2011-01-18T14:02:00.000-08:00

This documentary gives great context to Dr. King's final public address. Watch. Listen. Share with others.

Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., "I've Seen the Promised Land/I've Been to the Mountaintop" April 3, 1968 (excerpt)

2011-01-18T13:58:00.000-08:00

PRESS RELEASE: Africana Under Attack

2010-12-03T05:17:00.000-08:00

AFRICANA AT CORNELL UNDER ATTACK: CALL TO ACTION

Provost Kent Fuchs of Cornell University announced on December 1, 2010 his plan to relocate Africana Studies and Research Center within the Arts and Sciences unit and thereby undermine its effectiveness and autonomy in the larger institutional structure.

There was no consultation with the faculty prior to this decision.
There was no meeting with students prior to the Provost’s announcement.
No research evidence was provided to justify this move.
Africana resources such as budget and faculty lines are in jeopardy of being absorbed by Arts and Sciences.
Africana will now be open as a free for all for those who know little about the field.
There has been a revolving cycle of similar attempts from the founding of Africana 41 years ago.The Ph.D., which is offered as a new gift, is already in proposal form and only left to be implemented.
There was blatant disrespect of Africana faculty in this process.
The decision added additional stresses to students since it was dropped on them in the last week of school.

Africana has been a leader in the field for over 41 years. The Provost’s decision has implications for the larger field of Africana Studies in general. The Africana Center was established as an inter-college unit reporting to the Provost out of a logic that protected it from being subsumed under other administrative structures. The direct line to the Provost was essential for allowing its independence and self-determination. Provost Fuchs’ action will undo all the work that went into creating one of the most respected Africana Studies departments nationally and internationally.

If you also oppose the Provost’s actions we ask you to contact the Chairman of the Board of Trustees immediately and urge reversal.

We, as members of the Cornell community, adamantly reject this decision, and will actively protest today starting at 1pm. Wearing Black clothing and armbands, we will depart from the Africana Studies and Research Center and march to Day Hall, where we will rally until 3pm.

Contact Information:
Alyssa Clutterbuck grad: (P) 607-592-3380; acc268@cornell.edu
Tia Hicks ’11: (P) 607-229-8451; tmh76@cornell.edu

2010-12-02T22:43:00.000-08:00

STATEMENT OF AFRICANA FACULTY IN RESPONSE TO THE PROVOST’S UNILATERAL DECISION TO REORGANIZE THE AFRICANA STUDIES AND RESEARCH CENTER

The faculty of the Africana Studies and Research Center (ASRC) at Cornell University is surprised and appalled by Provost Kent Fuchs’ unilateral decision announced today, December 1, 2010, to dramatically change the Africana Center’s structure. There was no consultation with the faculty prior to this decision.

His approach in explaining his decision to the faculty was patronizing, autocratic, and non-negotiable. He announced the decision as a fait accompli. It was not based on any empirical research or on any of the prior program reviews of the Africana Center. He essentially decided to change the structure which will gravely undermine ASRC in the future. He indicated that he had consulted with other units and individuals but had not given the faculty of Africana the same courtesy and opportunity to deliberate on the specific details of his plan. The Provost acknowledged that this major shift was not due to the current major economic or budgetary situations. He promised support for a Ph.D. program linked to the administrative structure of the College of Arts and Sciences. There was already agreement from the external review of the Africana Center in 2006 to proceed with the establishment of a doctoral program without reference to the College of Arts and Sciences.

The faculty of ASRC finds the Provost’s decision unacceptable. We are concerned about a change of such major proportions taking place at this time. We asked him for time to respond, to digest his decision, to offer a process of discussion and mutual exchange but this offer was refused at every request. We also have not seen any concrete written proposals of how this change would work.

This lack of transparency bodes ill for decision making within the university. That the Provost would approach such a grave issue in this manner and that he was unwilling to engage in a process of discussion over time with the faculty that could produce a mutually agreeable plan and time table for implementation is ominous.

Prof. Robert L. Harris, Jr. has tendered his resignation as Director of the Africana Center based on the agreement at the time of his appointment that he would report directly to the Provost, as has been the administrative arrangement since the inception of the Africana Center. Moreover, he had expressed his strong objection to the Provost about this change and the process by which it was made. The faculty stands in support of the director’s opposition to this type of treatment and the principled position he has taken in this matter.

The Africana Studies and Research Center has a history of functioning and operating with budgetary prudence and stability, integrity and success as an academic unit for more than forty years. Africana has been a leader in the field and such a decision has implications for the larger field in general. There are historical reasons why the Africana Center was established as an inter-college unit reporting to the Provost. Those historical reasons have not changed substantially.

These ideas are not new and have not proven effective for other departments across the country that have looked to the Africana Center at Cornell as a model. This change in administrative structure will weaken the integrity of the Africana Center. The Provost indicated that he would provide greater financial support for the Africana Center, but that he would have to try to find it. The Africana Studies faculty had hoped for more concrete discussion of the Provost’s decision and his promises, but he has rushed to judgment and has run roughshod over the faculty. We reiterate our objection at being treated in this blatantly disrespectful and patronizing manner.

Marveling at the Expressive Aspects of African Diasporic Culture

2010-10-13T10:23:00.000-07:00

I am always amazed, and do marvel, at the brilliance and genius of the expressive aspects of African American culture. However, I really should extend it to include the African Diasporic culture because there are brothers and sisters on each continent that are writing, painting, speaking, singing, rapping, teaching, painting and just overall finding new and innovative ways to speak to the essence of soul—that one thing that resides in each of us, but particularly it is that feeling you get when something created moves you to move, write, preach, or sing with such passion, such conviction that it can make you have goose bumps or equally make tears to fall from your eyes.

Soul in the African Diasporic context is not simply a James Brown scream or an Aretha Franklin moan, but it very much is the essence and identity of hope in hopeless situations, joy amidst pain, love in the presence of hate. In the African American context, it is the blues. It is gospel. It is jazz. It is rhythm and blues. But it is not just found in singing or music for that matter. This “soul” is found in everything from a Jacob Lawrence painting to a the traditional foods served at family gatherings that aren’t the best for us, but prepared with a certain care, love, and feeling that just like a jazz solo has a unique taste depending on who has prepared it. For instance your grandmother may make the best friend chicken, you have ever tasted...an aunt make prepare the best ox tails and jerk chicken, and while others make make dishes that rival those meals, they are distinct in their taste, and dare I say feeling when you eat them. I know when I think of my grandmother's biscuits they take me back to early Saturday mornings in Kentucky, with each delectable bite.

Off the top of my head I can think of more examples than I can list on a page, but for the sake of this blog offering I thought to share a few with you that I think personify the essence of expressive and sometimes prophetic African Diasporic culture, that you may (or may not) be familiar with.

The first video is a song by the late Oscar Brown, Jr., poet, playwright, and activist. The tune is entitled “People of Soul” and it demonstrates how the struggle for black freedom is never ending, but for me, the greatest part about it is not that is a song of sorrow, but a true sense of pride and demonstrates the utter strength of a dispossessed people, who in the face of insurmountable odds transform themselves and the oppressive society in which they exist.

The second video of Brown is taken from his appearance on Russell Simmon's, "Def Poetry Jam," I believe in 2002. Brown performs "I Apologize." I won’t go into a long explanation because I think the piece he delivers speaks for itself (I want to talk more about this, but this was supposed to be a short blog post and I need to get back to working on my dissertation).

Lastly, is a video that has gone viral of a dance troop in Oakland called Turf Feinz. The group utilizes dance as an outlet for safe expression and creativity. They are a mix (or remix) of everything from Michael Jackson to Alvin Ailey and Katherine Dunham (I wonder if they know of the latter two dance pioneers?). Historical context or not, the brothers are talented to say the least. Maybe someone can let them listen to Oscar Brown’s “People of Soul” because they represent the next generation of artists in the continuum of African Diasporic expression.

ADDENDUM: After I thought about it, since Dunham's performance in Stormy Weather (1943) happens at least partially in the rain, I included it as well (please go watch the movie...outstanding and truly historical work). See any similarities? I would interested to know what you think. Peace.

He's a Man, not a Messiah: Barack Obama and the Dangers of Political & Cultural Messianism

2010-10-05T10:53:00.000-07:00

This latest offering on my blog has been a long time coming. It was originally inspired by a Twitter conversation I had with Professor Blair L. M. Kelley of North Carolina State University earlier this summer. She urged me to write something then (as did others) and I’m just now getting around to it. It seems though, however, that this topic is still quite relevant.

For quite some time now, we have been hearing about the growing malaise with President Barack Obama, but not from the usual conservative critics, but from his so called “progressive” base. It started in small pockets at first, ironically just like the Tea Party Movement, only with the liberal criticism it was initially confined to a few academics articulating their disappointment with Obama as president. Now, like a virus, the “buyer’s remorse” attitude seems to be sweeping through the mainstream media outlets as well as in the liberal blogosphere.

This past weekend for instance, on CBS’s “Face the Nation” journalist Bob Schieffer opened his show by asking, “What’s with Obama and the left?” Then, during the end of September, CNBC hosted an Economic Townhall where concerned citizen and veteran, Mrs. Velma Hart, soberly confessed to the president, “I’m exhausted of defending you…and the mantle of change I voted for.” Political experts from television to the internet argued that Mrs. Hart was emblematic of the void that existed between Obama and his once enthusiastic base that propelled him into the White House.

Adding more gas to the bonfire of political disappointment was comedian Jon Stewart of Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show.” He lamented on Fox News’ “The Bill O’Reilly Show” that he was “saddened” that Obama had not brought the change to Washington politics as he promised.

Two of the more prominent public intellectuals who stood up and loudly voiced disdain with President Obama early on were disillusioned historian, the late Professor Howard Zinn and religious scholar, Professor Cornel West.

Zinn’s very passionate plea was confined to an op-ed entitled, “Changing Obama’s Mindset” which appeared in the May 2009 issue of The Progressive. In it, Zinn characterized Obama as, “…a very sensitive and intelligent and thoughtful and promising person. But he’s a politician.” Zinn qualified his ire for Obama, by pointing out what he saw as Obama’s support for continued imperialist politics and accomodationist policies in dealing with Wall Street. However, none seem to draw more anger from the history lesson filled diatribe than when Zinn proclaims, “Obama has not gotten out of the militaristic missionary mindset.” Obama, according to Zinn, had lost his vision for the nation, and he was going to share with him what it should be. That vision, Zinn argued, was one that removed US military bases from around the globe, ceased its wars in Afghanistan, and got rid of the politicians “who showed no sign of breaking from the past.”

Cornel West, in a similar vein, shared with the world (via the BBC), his “loving” critique of Obama in a video letter of sorts. He begins commending the president by saying, “I salute your unprecedented, historic victory,” with a chesire cat like grin. From there he introduces his own very personal, but also very public appeal to the president. In a low, commanding tone and looks into the camera as if talking directly to the President and scolds, “Despite your brilliance, despite your charisma…how deep is your love for poor and working people?”

So the question becomes, “Is this emerging critique, disappointment, frustration, hopelessness, etc., a valid one?” Did Obama let everyone down? Has he become as Prof. West warns, “the friendly face of the American empire”? Did we look behind the curtain as Dorothy did only to find the Wizard f Oz was just a man? Was he not the political and cultural messiah we all hoped he would be when we wore our Obama T-shirts that had Dr. King, Obama and an image of the Black Christ (I know you saw these) all together ready to take us to the Promised Land?

For those that have not figured it out yet, let me inform you that Obama is indeed a man. Listen, I know it’s hard to believe…but alas, he is not magic. He does not have the power to snap his fingers and “POOF!” No more racism, militarism or materialism. It does not work that way. It never has.

Before we can even think about what is a meaningful, honest, and fair critique of our 44th President is, we first must acknowledge our collective emotional intoxication from the wine of political and cultural messianism, I have to admit I had a few drinks myself. It was hard not to.

Obama is, however, the pastor of The Church of Unrealistic Expectations and he was forced into the job. He thought he was elected President of the United States, but no, some of the folks who elected him had other plans. Not only will you [Obama] get the economy back online, you must also bring peace to the Palestine/Israel conflict, end world hunger, stop greed, stop racism, stop damn near any and everything we can think of that we are not going to do for ourselves.

The disenchanted former Obama supporters remind me of the biblical Israelites, who having no food or water when they were roaming in the wilderness, cried out to heaven for help. God, upon hearing his children gave them manna from heaven, water from rocks, and yet they complained. The same thing is happening now, we did escape evil Pharaoh, but there is work to be done. We can cry out all we want about what is not happening…we can have marches, we can have satirical and cynical marches (Restore Sanity/Keep Fear Alive), but at some point there must be some collective, organized action. The same type of action that compelled Jo Ann Robinson to run off thousands and thousands of copies on mimeograph machine for the Montgomery Bus Boycott. The same kind of action that it took to get Obama elected must be used to hold him accountable to the things he said on the campaign trail.

Being politically melancholy is what the conservatives, neo cons, ‘birthers’, Tea Party and every other type of sane (and insane) entity that stands against Obama wants from us. I’m not saying to support him blindly, that is foolish in any situation, but to just give up, to just sour yourselves and those around you is lazy and irresponsible, just like the journalistic efforts at Fox News.

We need to think about the bigger picture here. Obama will be in office for one term or two and we need to make the most of it no matter what it is because the alternative that is building among the conservative opposition will be a leviathan like you have never seen. If elected November 2 or in 2012, the GOP will implement policy that would make Ronald Reagan tremble. Even if Hilary Clinton ran in 2012 or 2016, she will not be able to turn the tide of hate, fear mongering, greed, and insanity that has gripped certain aspects of this nation.

I agree with Howard Zinn when he maintained:

“Where progress has been made, wherever any kind of injustice has been overturned, it’s been because people acted as citizens, and not as politicians. They didn’t just moan. They worked, they acted, they organized, they rioted if necessary to bring their situation to the attention of people in power. And that’s what we have to do today.”

America, we must eat manna before we can have steak. We must continue to work, for there is no final victory in democracy, but sustained entrenched struggle. Can you be frustrated with Obama and his administration? Of course you can. However, take that anger to inform your family, speak to folks in your community, take that anger and use it to organize just as you did when you fought to get Obama elected.

The problem with America, and honestly most nations throughout history, is that we, as citizens typically never really want to do the work it takes to really see societal change through, particularly when we are comfortable. Too many of us fear to do what is really necessary for the change we voted for. Using your vote is only the first step, not the last. The same “backbone” that Cornel West urges Obama to have, we must ALL have.

This is NOT the time to sit down and be armchair progressives and back seat drivers for change. We need people who are going to not just speak the rhetoric of change; we need folks who are going to do the WORK need to implement change. That responsibility cannot be just left to the president to do alone. If he has forgotten, as many suggest, then let us support him and hold not only President Obama, but also ourselves accountable.

At the end of his video letter/conversation, Prof. Cornel West cautioned Obama to not be, “A colorful caretaker of an empire in decline and a culture in decay.” That metaphor is misplaced. We are ALL caretakers of this republic. We elected the president. Obama did not, contrary to popular opinion, elect himself, and we have forgotten that. One person alone cannot do the work of democracy.

The Black Image in the White Mind: Kanye West and James Brown

2010-08-02T10:28:00.000-07:00

I just happened to be on one of my usual intellectual procrastination sessions while working on my dissertation Sunday afternoon and came across a blog, "HYPETRAK" that had a series of video clips of Kanye West performing new tunes from his highly anticipated fifth album, which is originally titled as "Good Ass Job"(West recently announced on Twitter that he was changing album name). West performed acapella at the Facebook Headquarters in Palo Alto, California (July 27). Initially I thought, "Hey, this is a helluva PR move!" Who wouldn't think that, right? What better place for PR than going to Facebook Headquarters. It's a far cry from West's infamous Taylor Swift incident that drew national, if not international ire. As a fan of Kanye's music, I had to check out to see what Mr. West was going to do.

The first track that he did is called "Mama's Boyfriend." Before he starts performing he gives a kind disclaimer to his majority white audience, as he stands on top of what seem to be cafeteria/conference tables, that the song he's about to perform is filled with several uses of the "n-word." He informs the audience, "Pardon me, there is a lot of use of the 'n-word' but I'm allowed to use it." The audience erupts in laughter and he begins to perform. Right before he utters one word his demeanor and posture change, reminiscent of a spoken word artist or an actor that is about to recite Shakespeare.

As he began his flow I knew where he was coming from with the song and lyrics. To be honest, I think he starts to get at some of the nuances of being a son of a single mother, but I couldn't help thinking about another awkward performance by another pop culture icon--James Brown. The "Godfather of Soul" made an appearance on Hugh Hefner's syndicated show, "Playboy After Dark," a program that was supposed to give the viewer this feeling that they were at a private cocktail party at the Playboy Mansion. During the show (which ran from 1968-1970) Hefner interacts with his guests, all while having some of the greatest music icons of the day perform in what seems to be an intimate setting. Sounds like a recipe for a hit show, right? Often times it was.

The night James Brown performed, that recipe seemed to be a bit surreal. Not because he was on the show, but because of the choice of song. Brown performed his black pride anthem, "Say it Loud (I'm Black and I'm Proud)." I have often wondered what was going through not only James Brown's mind as he performed, but also the majority white audience that were so enthusiastically reciting the chrous with him. There is just something weird about seeing the majority white audience shout, "I'm Black and I'm Proud!" Brown never really looks at the audience while he sings as if he is in his own world.

Looking at the audience sing with him may have had the same effect on him that Dave Chappelle had when he decided to abandon his hit comedy show. It was almost as if Brown was having an out of body experience as he sang. I know I was. At some point I wonder if he thought, "Maybe this wasn't a good idea." Then again, he could have been fine with performing the tune. The whole spectacle reminds me of a scene from Spike Lee's film, Bamboozled (2000), where the entire audience is wearing blackface and before the minstrel show begins the character, "Honeycutt," who himself is dressed as a blackface version of President Abraham Lincoln, goes out into the studio audience and asks several people, "Is you a NIGGA??!!" Each of them emphatically shouts (in their own way), "I'm a NIGGA!"

So putting these performances into a historical context--Kanye West at the Facebook Headquarters in 2010 and James Brown singing "Say it Loud" some forty or so years prior, we have spanned the turbulent 1960s and the society altering effects of the black freedom movement and Vietnam, to a republic still haunted by its inability to honestly discuss race matters. Yes, there is now a African American president, yet with the recent Shirley Sherrod fiasco, we seem to always end up back at square one--a far cry from the post racialism heralded by so many after the 2008 Presidential Election.

I am not suggesting that James Brown or Kanye West's performances are the same. I do think there are parallels and similarities. Both black men are performing to largely non-black audiences and both engage the issue of race head on in their performances. Furthermore, both men for their respective generations, have come to symbolize not only their race but tangible aspects of American popular culture. While Brown made his legacy from his mind blowing performances (that set standards only Michael Jackson would eclipse), West in many ways has taken the reins of media by being shocking to his audience and the media alike, neither entity ever really knowing what what to expect from him. While West did not come up with an anthem as Brown is known for, his comments in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina thrust him into a different spotlight. I am not suggesting that either of these artists are activists, but they have engaged their art and their celebrity in ways that was indeed active and responsive to the times in which they live(d). (Please see Prof. Mark Anthony Neal's take on the subject.)

Additionally, I reflect back to a text written by historian, George Fredrickson entitled The Black Image in the White Mind: The Debate on Afro-American Character and Destiny, 1817-1914, (1971). In this classic treatise of intellectual history, Fredrickson analyzes how white Americans have perceived African Americans in slavery and in freedom from early nineteenth century to the opening decades of the twentieth. In short, he was concerned with addressing "the development of intellectualized racist theory and ideology as it applied directly and programmatically to the "problem" posed in the white mind by the presence of millions of blacks in the United States."

So when you watch the audiences that are gathered to view the art of these two performers, what exactly do they see? Why do they clap and laugh? Is it possible that Brown's audience understands or empathizes with the declaration of black pride? Does Kanye's audience feel the pain of a young black boy growing up raised by a single black mother? When he utters "nigga"(more times than in any Boondocks episode or in Twain's Huckleberry Finn) do they get it? Such questions likely will never be fully answered to anyone's satisfaction.

The questions I pose that surround these performances are by no means definitive or the last word, but I do think we cannot simply overlook these spectacles of race. In both performances the artists are unapologetically proclaiming (and aware of) their blackness. But what about the black image in the white mind? Are whites just to sit and enjoy the spectacle of blackness uncritically? What about African Americans? Are we let off the hook by just writing James Brown off as a great performance and Kanye West, just simply being his usual self? I think we have to ask such questions. Then again, maybe I'm just thinking about this way too much.

Van Jones Address at Netroots Nation 2010

2010-07-29T21:44:00.000-07:00

Great speech...Mr. Jones raises some great points that we all need to pay attention to. We need to hold our elected officials and ourselves accountable.

PUNK'D

2010-07-21T07:08:00.000-07:00

MTV, the bastion of American popular culture, had huge success with a show called, "Punk'd." It was a hidden camera practical joke series. The show, which was the brain child of actor, Ashton Kutcher, was akin to a celebrity version of the once famous Candid Camera Show, which was hosted by Allen Funt. First airing in 2003, Kutcher's version was like Candid Camera on acid. Candid Camera usually played innocent, yet comical, pranks on everyday folk in America, Kutcher chose to prey solely on some of the biggest names in entertainment and sports (wait, aren't those the same thing?).

"Punk'd" ended it's successful run on May 29, 2007...or so we thought. FOX News thought they would bring the show back, this time in a prank of epic proportions. Andrew Breitbart, was to do his best Kutcher impersonation, and the pawns in this political joke were the NAACP, its president and CEO, Mr. Ben Jealous, a host of political pundits (especially those from CNN), as well as the White House. The joke was to be centered around USDA's Shirley Sherrod. She was the department's Georgia director of Rural Development. I won't go into more of that story because I'm sure that you have heard it. If not, I would ask you to read the great work of blogger and journalist, Danielle Belton in her piece, "NAACP, White House, Pundits, Et Al, Get "Snookered" By FOX News."

I want to focus on a larger issue that I think is being lost in all the media hoopla. I consider myself a big picture type of thinker and this situation has a big picture that many are missing. Last night on the "The Rachel Maddow Show" she had Ben Jealous on as a guest. He obviously wanted to explain what exactly went wrong with the NAACP during this fiasco. Jealous spoke for a lot longer than he needed to. I think both he and LeBron James could take a course on how to announce something on national television in a clear, concise way--with emphasis on concise (i.e. short and to the point).

All Jealous needed to do was apologize and get the ball back rolling on the real political issues. (To be honest, Mr. Jealous could have turned this negative into a positive by going down to Georgia to meet with Ms. Sherrod today. That would have gone a long way to mending relationships and it would have been a great public relations move--only in a perfect world I guess.)

Maddow brilliantly pointed out that what FOX News had done was not really about NAACP, but was essentially part of a larger agenda had more to do with fanning the flames of racial fear and ignorance, via the zero sum game. Maddow explained:

"I also think there is a broader racial agenda with this attack to try to stoke essentially white racial resentment to tell white people they are victims of racism, that anybody standing up for civil rights is out to take rights away from white people. It's a zero sum game that white people must be harmed in order for nonwhite people to be treated as equal citizens in this country."

Maddow is absolutely right. The broader issue is the politics of racial resentment. This has been the game plan by some conservative factions since President Obama was elected. Organizations such as the NAACP, the political pundits on cable news stations, as well as the White House, should worry less about what FOX News will say about them and move to start acting in a decisive way that defines the debate on race and politics and stop having the rules dictated to them by falling for political practical jokes.

Hip-Hop LIVES: "What if the Tea Party Was Black?"

2010-07-19T18:52:00.000-07:00

Open Letter to Glenn Beck

2010-07-18T16:29:00.000-07:00

Mr. Beck,

My dear fellow American, while in the midst of my graduate studies here at Cornell University I happened to come across your recent article published at FoxNews.com entitled, "Liberation Theology and Social Justice." I will address that in a moment. Before I discuss what you wrote, I must say that it has long been my practice to refrain from responding to problematic notions of republicanism with regard to this nation that are printed in the media. If I did so I would never finish my work. Americans are bombarded with innumerable so-called experts in all things political. My primary focus while I reside here in central New York state is on my intellectual development--my education--which is preparing me to expertly teach the history of this republic and the African Diaspora, and especially the intersections of the two. I study history because I believe it to be vitally important to the development of human society; I think that is safe to assume that you believe similarly. I view history as the late Dr. John Henrik Clarke did. He defined it as "a clock that people use to tell their political and cultural time of day."

In our contemporary society, many find their political and cultural time of day through news media of some kind. For some, your show operates in this capacity. I have also tuned in periodically, watching your show both on CNN and FOX, intrigued by your point of view and eager to understand it. While I do not think I have ever completely agreed with anything you have said, I do defend your right to express yourself as you have. You have a platform and an ability to reach a large audience in various ways: radio, internet, and television. Many in the news media, no matter what the political affiliation, point to you as an integral piece in the stimulation of the conservative base, usually associated with the Republican Party. I am sure that you would agree that the beauty of this nation resides in how we bring our myriad experiences, cultures, beliefs and faiths together to make a more perfect union. No matter what the color, race, or creed, we are not a monolith, no more than the framers of the constitution were.

I believe that you do love this nation, as I do I. Part of loving something is being able to critique it, not in a vitriolic way, grounded in hate, but in a way that seeks to make that which you love better. Simultaneously, when one loves something you must be ready and willing to look in the mirror yourself. It is my hope this day I can engage you in an authentic and meaningful discourse about the nature and the identity this nation--what is is and is not. I take this time out from my work to address you directly because I believe a grave injustice has been done with regard to how you have misrepresented not only my practiced faith, Christianity, but even specifically how you have continued to misappropriate of the ideas of the Revered Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., in a manner that distorts them to the core.

You frequently talk about his "dream," but yet you, and other conservatives always fail to mention the first part of his historic, and at the same moment, timeless address, "Normalcy Never Again"/(I Have a Dream). In the beginning he discusses how "America has defaulted on its promissory note to which every American is to fall heir." Understand that the March on Washington in 1963 signals a symbolic movement of all Americans to bring attention and action to the "bad check,” a promise of democracy and political equality, that was written to African Americans at the start of this republic.

Today, some forty-seven years later, we have made great strides as a nation to pay off this past due balance, but we must ever be vigilant and strive to make this nation what it needs to be. Like Dr. King, I too "refuse to believe that bank of justice is bankrupt." We live in a nation where you can speak as you, Mr. Beck, typically do, with no reprisals. Such freedom of speech is your right, and mine too. I believe in free speech as much as you do. Indeed, I cherish the fact that you, Mr. Beck, my fellow American, can speak freely in this nation. But while speech is free here, so exists a responsibility for the things we say. You are a stalwart supporter of personal "accountability," are you not? Well, today I am holding you accountable. Your direct and indirect use of “race” and denigrated understandings of Christianity to support your efforts must be challenged.

In your article, you seek to educate your readership on the theological term, "black liberation theology". You begin by warning your readers that there is "poison" coming out of our churches. Your basic premise is, "Jesus never said take from the rich and let the government redistribute it." In short, you begin your indictment with a conservative/GOP talking point rehashed over and over since the early discussions about finance reform and during the 2008 presidential election. Couching this theological tradition in terms of the partisan redistribution of wealth mantra, or the “socialism” argument, allows you to make the fear-mongering claim that “the government is going to take your money and give it to the undeserving poor minorities”—simply unfair and untrue.

You support this irresponsible statement by using the parable of the Good Samaritan, professing that the Samaritan "took it upon himself to help; he took on the bills himself." You have hijacked this parable and distorted it to support your belief and fear of socialized government, which many of your viewers and readers have as well. This careless extension of the Good Samaritan parable to support your political concerns leads to a dangerous road to travel. Such a misrepresentation takes the power out of the lesson that Christ is teaching. The original passage of scripture has nothing to do with government, especially the particularities of our 21st century American one, and your application of it to such an entity I consider near blasphemous.

In the parable, which comes from the Gospel of Luke 10: 25-37, a Samaritan helps a traveler (who we can assume is Jewish) who was left for dead after he was severely beaten by thieves. Prior to the Samaritan stopping by, both a Levi and a priest pass by the Jew either for fear of also being beaten themselves, or for other reasons unknown to the reader. When Christ teaches this parable, the power behind it is that the Samaritans and Jews during biblical times held a profound contempt for each other. Thus, that the Samaritan would stop and help someone who would typically be viewed as his enemy speaks directly to loving thy neighbor.

In his final and most prophetic speech, "I've Been to the Mountaintop," Dr. King uses this very parable. In King's discussion of the passage he explains what the thinking of the Levite and priest may have been. He can clearly see both early passersby asking themselves, "If I stop to help this man, what will happen to me?" King continues, "But then the Good Samaritan came by. And he reversed the question: ‘If I do not stop to help this man, what will happen to him?’"

Mr. Beck, this last is the question that you and every other American, including myself, faces everyday of our lives. We must begin to ask, "What will happen not just to my fellow Americans, but what will happen to the Haitians, our brothers and sisters in need on the African continent, the citizens of Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, and also Palestine if we do not stop to help?"

This brings me to the topic of your article, black liberation theology. Professor James H. Cone initially coined this term in a 1969 treatise, Black Theology and Black Power. The book was in large measure a response to the times, in my view. History is about understanding context and when discussing a text such as this, it is imperative that we understand the times in which it was written. Nothing occurs in a vacuum. Cone wrote this volume after the assassinations of historical icons Robert Kennedy, John Kennedy, Malcolm X, and of course Dr. King. However, this tumultuous moment of the “sixties’ saw countless other high-profile murders and crimes to the flesh in the name of political and racial conflicts, such as those against Jimmy Lee Jackson and the young Emmett Till. America at this moment in history, as you well know, was in a state of socio-political change and frustration felt by all, not least of all by those of African descent. Neither one of us—you, a white man, and I, a black man born a generation later--can truly imagine what it must have felt like to be a black American at this tumultuous time. America was at war, not just abroad, but at home. Within this context, Cone's text was an effort to reclaim Christianity which by that time largely seemed impotent in the face of wanton violence and terrorism.

In the preface to the 1989 edition of the book, Cone himself admits "I wanted to speak on behalf of the voiceless black masses in the name of Jesus whose gospel I believed had been largely distorted by the preaching and theology of white churches." He was profoundly frustrated as so many were and he sought to speak against what he saw as a corrupted theology; for it was that same theology that allowed for slavery to exist in the first place. Each of the European nations that participated in the transatlantic slave trade were "Christian" nations. Dr. King addressed this issue again when wrote the "Letter from Birmingham Jail". King addressed his fellow clergymen about as eloquently and patiently as possible to get to the heart of the matter...moral injustice. Similarly, Cone tries to address the same point. His intellectual response was the creation of an alternative theology that valued the black freedom movement, the struggle of the dispossessed black masses in America.

The call to take up with the dispossessed, as Cone (and by extension King) suggests, does not mean that one should give over their worldly possessions, as you assert, but rather that one should acknowledge that their actions are to speak for them. Such a call requires no mandate from government. I call your attention to the Gospel of Matthew 25: 34-46. Here Christ clearly explains just how He will judge nations when He returns. Many of us are familiar with the clarion call to clothe the naked, feed the hungry and to visit those who are sick or in prison. Christ explains to those who will sit at his right hand that they will be rewarded because of their care for those in need. In verse 40 He clearly states, "inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me," (NKJV).

There is no place in Cone's text where he calls for the government to force whites to pay reparations. Now, the issue of reparations is a real one. It is no secret that this nation is what it is today because of the forced labor of bonded men and women taken from African shores. This fact you cannot argue, nor deny. I do not simply suggest that writing checks to every African American would change this nation either. If one was to calculate how much the forced labor of slaves was worth in the creation and maintaining of this republic it would likely make our current deficit (which according to the Congressional Budget Office eclipsed the $1trillion mark this year) seem like pocket change. You wrongly characterize African Americans as seeking some sort of hand out. You are indeed mistaken on this front. If there was money paid, it was surely earned with our forefathers labor and blood.

In your discussion of how Cone sees "white salvation" in black liberation theology you equate it to stepping down "from that job you ‘took’ from someone else. Give back that money you ‘took’ from someone else." Such an interpretation is totally wrong and a gross misrepresentation of black liberation theology. Here again, you are using your interpretation of this theology to serve a political ploy, this time against Affirmative Action programs. Or worse, you are characterizing African Americans influenced by black liberation theology—a great majority of them—as money-grubbing victims, unwilling to work for their pay or unwilling to earn, through merit, their position. Reparations can come in many forms. One of the ways that Cone proposes reparations, a discussion that you take up in your article, includes the giving up of power based on a racial hierarchy. That "power" which he mentions is linked to white privilege in this racialized republic. White privilege has been around since the initial construction of “race” as a modern concept in the 16th century. One reality cannot exist without the other. This privilege has paid both a real and psychological wage to those who fall under its aegis of inequality. In our current economic climate the wage of whiteness is not paying what it used to.

Anytime there is a perceived or real loss of political and socio-economic power by the group that holds it, once rational minds cleave to false prophets and teachers. History is replete with nations that have created scapegoats to blame their problems on and when this has occurred such nations have allowed maniacal, evil tyrants to rule over them. America is facing some tough days, and likely even tougher days ahead. With the type of misinformation you continually present to those who do not, and will not, interrogate what you say, America is destined to join the annals of history of those fallen empires who, like mighty Rome, fell to internal strife rather than outside invaders. The German philosopher and economist Karl Marx once prophetically said, "History repeats itself, first as tragedy, second as farce." In your insulting parody of genuine historical scholarship and pedagogy, you are helping to facilitate both tragedy and farce, Mr. Beck.

You claim that "We are living in dangerous times and unless you understand what people are saying and why they are saying it and how they arrived there, then too many Americans are going to be fooled." For once, you are absolutely right. Your viewers and readers need to do the same with you--just as they should any person that brings them so called "truth". You peddle these half-truths and fabrications, and people listen because they want someone to tell them that it is okay for them to be as they are, there is no need to change. Change is hard, takes work; stasis if for the lazy man and woman. Mr. Beck, I am here to tell you that you can generate support for ideas and agendas without misrepresenting facts and skewing truth. Theologian Obrey Hendricks in his book, The Politics of Jesus: Rediscovering the True Revolutionary Nature of Jesus’ Teachings and How They Have Been Corrupted, reminds us in his discussion of conservatism and liberalism that despite extreme views held by some, "...at its base true conservatism is not about hateful rhetoric and murderous behavior, neither is true liberalism about permissiveness or moral laxity." It is one thing to critique it is another to misinform Mr. Beck. Prof. Cone, in his book God of the Oppressed, maintains, “The task of theology is to show the significance of the oppressed's struggle against inhuman powers, relating the people's struggle to God's intention to set them free.”

Theology, simply understood is faith seeking understanding. Do not muddy the waters of the debate by attempting to inject things that are not there. Are there salient critiques that exist with regard to black liberation theology? Of course. Does Cone not rethink his own language in respect to historical context? Yes. I do not agree with everything that Prof. Cone has written, but I understand where he is coming from. Throughout history mankind has allowed religion to be the hand maiden of conquerors, do not allow this to happen with your own attempts to understand differing points of view. My own thoughts hinge more on one comprehensive and holistic theology that does what Christianity was intended to do--empower the dispossessed, speak for the voiceless of the brotherhood of man. The disinherited should not have to re-create the theological wheel, but hold the faith accountable to what it says that it is. Did you know, Mr. Beck, that the most segregated hour in American life happens around noon on Sunday? Instead of crafting a fiction for why this is the case, a fiction that deepens the cultural cleft, you should explore and fairly represent the realities that separate we the people of the United States of America in the first place.

Mr. Beck, the struggle for freedom in this country by African Americans is not unlike any other oppressed people in history who have struggled and yearned to be free. Yes, the particulars may differ with regard to time period, etc., but the narrative at its core is always the same. Such persons, as theologian and philosopher, Howard Thurman defines as, "those who stand, at a moment in human history with their backs against the wall." These persons have utilized various methods to secure equality and equity in that equality. This concept should not be foreign to you. In the Book of Mormon, the sacred text to which you adhere, speaks to this point precisely. In Mosiah 29:39 reads:

“Therefore they relinquished their desires for a king, and became exceedingly anxious that every man should have an equal chance throughout all the land; yea, and every man expressed a willingness to answer for his own sins.”

Thus, how can you begin to say the things you have with regard to African Americans? From what I have read, the Book of Mormon delights in, and supports opposition to oppression. Is that not common ground? Does not the Book of Mormon support those who struggle against moral injustice?
In your wholly inaccurate depiction and explanation of black liberation theology you profess, "You don't need to be a Christian to believe this. You need to understand this because a perversion of God is extraordinarily dangerous." Those are very strong, condemning words, that are uncalled for and invalid. If there has been any perversion it surely has come from your own pen, from your own mind. At the end of your article you finally proclaim that:

"...there are those in this country that need to divide us for power. They will make this about race. But this has almost nothing to do with race; it everything to do with power. It has happened over and over again -- it's a formula: same outcome, different group of people."

Who is dividing who for power? If anything or anyone has made this issue about race it surely has been you. Frederick Douglass understood thinking such as yours. Those who would protest loudly as the peculiar institution of slavery began to crumble. He understood the hypocrisy that was America, not on paper, but in practice. He saw how race was utilized just as you are using it now, to take attention from the real issue. He professed, "There is no negro problem. The problem is whether the American people have loyalty enough, honor enough, patriotism enough, to live up to their own constitution..." It is a shame that in the twenty-first century persons such as yourself still seek to corrupt the movement of those persons striving for freedom. Well, my fellow American, it is time to speak truth and provide light in the darkness of known ignorance.

Are you familiar with the biblical story of Christ and the money changers? If not, the story takes place during Christ's arrival into Jerusalem where he enters the city riding a beast of burden, under great excitement from the people. Once in the city, he goes into the temple only to find that there are persons selling and buying goods inside the sacred space. Angered, Christ turns over the tables of these biblical vendors and salespersons professing, "it is written, My house shall be called a house of prayer; but ye have made it into a den of thieves," (Matthew 21:13).

Mr. Beck, my fellow American, when you speak as you have, you are no different than the money changers who were in the temple in Jerusalem. If we consider the temple to be analogous to this republic, this nation was created knowing that "all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness." As you know that comes directly from the Declaration of Independence.

In practice, this nation has never lived up to these lofty aims. If we are ever to move past rhetorical equality, the type of information you are disseminating must be challenged and stopped. Persons of goodwill must use their righteous minds to speak out and overthrow the proverbial tables of fear, ignorance, and greed. Make no mistake, I am in no way calling those persons of goodwill, or myself, Christ. That would be absurd. However, this is not about religion. It is not about race. It is about treating people fairly and justly.

Mr. Beck, you are a man that Frederick Douglass cautioned us about in 1857. You "profess to favor freedom, and yet deprecate agitation...want crops without plowing up the ground...want rain without thunder and lightening...want the ocean without the awful roars of its waters." Well, my fellow American, the time has come to get out our plows. You have the ability to help make this nation better. I should hope that you would act as righteous as the Book of Mormon calls for you to, if not that, at least operate from a position of moral justice.

Let me be clear too, you are only a symbol of a larger movement that at its worst preys on weak minds and hard hearts. At best, a genuine dialogue might be fostered. As I write, I think about the book of Ephesians 6:12, "we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rules of darkness of this world, against spirit wickedness in high places." The struggle for freedom is unfortunately a constant one. Dr. King knew that as well. "History," he reflected, "is the long and tragic story of the fact that privileged groups seldom give up their privileges voluntarily." Freedom, Mr. Beck is something that is demanded and rarely given.

I need to bring this to a close. I never intended for this letter to be as long as it is, but circumstances dictated it. Mr. Beck you mistakenly see African American equality and equity as a zero sum game. What that means is that you understand any gains made by African Americans to come at the expense of whites, or at least that is how you have framed this debate. This debate is not a religious one, nor one about race, it is, as I have said about what is morally right and just.

Other than you, I hope that others who may read my words will begin to speak against those who seem to be determined to undermine this democracy. For my efforts, I will continue to speak when I feel the situation necessitates it, of that you can be sure. As long as you continue to use fragments of the Bible and the United States Constitution to fit your socio-political needs I will speak and I will act. I pray that I will compel others to do the same. "Power," Mr. Beck "concedes nothing without a demand, it never has and it never will." America is a far cry from being perfect, but if we are to make this nation what it should be, what it can be, if we are to engage in serious dialogue about how to make it better, let us speak as men and women with respect of each other and without the vitriol and hate that are the relatives of discord and anarchy.

If, in this letter there is something that I have mentioned that is anything but truth and far from reasonable, may God forgive and have mercy upon me. May those who read this forgive me, if that be the case. President Barack Obama, once mentioned, "our stories our singular that our destiny is shared." Dr. King similarly understood that, "All men are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality." I think you can agree with that, my fellow American.

I pray God's blessings not only upon you, but upon all of those who seek freedom and love justice.

Sincerely, I am,

Vernon C. Mitchell, Jr.

"Who's the Master?!?"

2010-07-12T23:38:00.000-07:00

By now we have all read, watched and talked about the LeBron James decision and the fallout--ad nauseum. ESPN, who is likely one of the main culprits of the creation of "King James" aired his hour long decision like it was some supplement to the 2008 presidential campaign. They have always been near James, since they started airing his high school games on their network seven years ago. However, I'm not really writing this to talk about ESPN, that will have to wait for another day (that's really a book project).

I'm just as tired of hearing about this as you likely are. So why chime in now? Well most of it is due to what sportswriter J.A. Adande called a "reaction to reaction" (on Twitter), the phrase he used to describe the Reverend Jesse Jackson's comments toward Cavalier's owner, Dan Gilbert. Gilbert's vitriolic, outrageous comments have caused just as much a stir as James' departure from Cleveland. In essence, Jackson likened Gilbert's words to that of a angry slave owner who lost one of his prized bonded men.

As soon as the Rev. Jackson issued his statement there was another storm brewing in the newsrooms, barbershops, churches, bars, homes and just anywhere folk talk about hot button issues of the day. At ESPN for instance, Jackson's rebuttal to Gilbert took center stage on all their programming, which was not surprising. This story got so much play in the media that even political journalists have also weighed in, such as Jonathan Capehart from the Washington Post.

In his op-ed piece, "LeBron James isn't Kunta Kinte" he finds Rev. Jackson's words misguided and over the top to say the least. Capehart used an analogy of his own claiming Jackson's words were like, "blasting an ant with a nuclear weapon in the Associated Press." Capehart seemed to find Gilbert's letter justified in as much as he seems to defend his right to express his anger about the situation however Gilbert chooses:

If the owner of the Cavaliers wants to vent in an online missive that could have been written with collage cut-outs of letters from Sports Illustrated let him.

Another well known journalist and blogger, Danielle Belton, creator of "The Black Snob" blog, mentions in "And Now For Some Slave Metaphors from Jesse Jackson On LeBron", some of the good points brought out in Jackson's letter. For instance, Jackson talks about the sacrifice of baseball player, Curt Flood (who played for my beloved St. Louis Cardinals) whose refusal to a trade in 1969 is the sole reason that LeBron, and so many other professional athletes, are able to have lucrative free agent deals--or dare I say it, "freedom."Building on this notion of player "freedom" or at least autonomy, Belton writes:

"While I'm not a LeBron fan, it's pretty obvious that Gilbert's lament and some of the criticism has more to do with shaming pro-players who are exercising their right to get the best job, deal, team possible."

Belton goes on to discuss the farce of the "purity" of college sports that I agree with wholeheartedly. If what happened to the Big XII Conference, Big 10, and Pac-10 are any indications, it is definitely all about the money...the best deal that a university can get, it's not about the student athletes. They bring in revenue, but see not a cent of it. They are controlled like prostitutes walking the promenade with the only reward being a "free" education.

On ESPN's Emmy-award winning show, "Pardon the Interruption", this evening co-host Michael Wilbon was in total agreement with the Jackson's analogy and mentioned that he had endorsed it even before hearing it from Jackson, having made the analogy himself with people he had spoken with about the situation.

When talking to several friends, colleagues, and even my father--all used the slave analogy and had not heard Jackson's comments before hand, until I mentioned it to them. So is there something to this? This sample I have taken is in no ways scientific. However, why do so many feel that this is relevant and others find this just another tired example of playing the infamous "race card" in a socio-political game of Texas Hold'em?

My take on this is that I agree somewhat with Rev. Jackson. I think that there is a racial underpinning that you cannot divorce from any discussion about the Black Athlete in this county. During LeBron's decision I thought back to William C. Rhoden's book, Forty Million Dollar Slaves: The Rise, Fall, and Redemption of the Black Athlete (2007), where he argues that today's black pro-athletes have a similar relationship to their team owners as their bonded forefathers in the peculiar institution of slavery.

Dan Gilbert's response to LeBron reads more like the letter or emotional outburst of a scorned lover, though at the same time, there are aspects of it that have elements of the delicate power dynamic between player and owner, or for Jackson's purposes owner/slave.

As a Laker fan, I'm not really pulled either way by this move, though I applaud the idea of what LeBron, Wade, and Bosh, are attempting to do, no matter how poor the execution was (I'm so glad I did not waste an hour of my life watching that spectacle as so many did). They, like Anna Julia Cooper, are defining when and where they enter--to some extent.

The larger issue is that those who have wielded power in America have often felt betrayed or lashed out when the dispossessed have found ways to thwart control of their labor and operated independently of the captains of industry. Just look at labor history in this nation if you doubt my claim. The formation of labor unions did not come without aggressive backlash from employers. It happened to Curt Flood, Muhammad Ali, and of course Jack Johnson and so many others. In the final analysis, this is simply just a game, right? Or is it?

The NBA is but one of the many tentacles of the free market system. It is entertainment sold to us just like everything else here. I'm not trying to vilify the league, or professional sports, as I am a huge sports fan, but we have to begin to understand the larger implications behind those things that we value.

The significance of race in this republic is not going anywhere, anytime soon--of that we can be sure. While sometimes it can be overstated, we must never allow it to be simply dismissed without some interrogation. Jesse Jackson in his slavery analogy was being his usual self.

Mr. Capehart closes his brief article by saying, "we all know who the real master is." In this tricky game of business, I think Capehart assumes too much. I'm assuming that he doesn't mean "Sho 'Nuff" the Shogun of Harlem.

For me, the master is greed. I just hope for all his efforts, LeBron James doesn't become the sharecropper that Minister Louis Farrakhan characterized him as.

Now can we all talk about something else...that matters?

History Lesson: 'Old Soldiers' Need to be Fired

2010-06-23T10:42:00.000-07:00

The recent Rolling Stone article that has exposed a less than favorable view of President Obama, held by General McChrystal is not the first time that a president and a general have not agreed about how to best proceed with a war effort.

In 1951 America was locked into very similar situation, in the oft mentioned, never truly understood Korean War. A year earlier, President Harry S. Truman ordered General Douglas MacArthur to send arms and troops into South Korea, believing that Chinese leader, Mao Zedong might attempt to take Formosa (modern day Taiwan). Once the United Nations Security Council signed on to the American strategy, by helping South Korea during conflict, it also named Gen. MacArthur as commander of United Nations forces in Korea (90 percent of them American...sound familiar?).

The infamous 38th parallel was the point of no return in this war. Truman wanted to unify the peninsula by force and supported UN forces to crossing the 38th parallel. During the war, American forces also attacked targets on the Yalu River, which was an important transportation link with China. Mao issued warnings publicly that his nation would not permit the continued bombing in that area, nor would they accept annihilation of North Korea. Officials in Washington and MacArthur ignored Mao's words. The wine jug of hubris was poured and poured heavily in the cups of diplomatic igorance.

In November of 1950, Chinese forces surprised MacArthur and his troops driving them back southward. MacArthur wanted to retaliate with a massive air attack on China. Truman, soberly reflecting on the rising costs of the war rejected the general's suggestion.

By early 1951, forces were stabilized around the 38th parallel. There were negotiations with Washington and Moscow, but MacArthur still wanted to proceed with his air attack. The general made suggestions that Truman was practicing appeasement. By April, Truman had enough and back by the Joint Chiefs of Staff, fired the famous general. Truman took a hit in his popularity for the decision, some even call for impeachment. We know how history ended...it was likely one of the best moves of his administration.

Today President Obama is faced with a similar decision. I hope he listens to the voices of history and acts in a way that is both decisive and strong to match the poor judgment of General McChrystal. Counterinsurgency strategy sounds a lot like the lofty notion of attacking China in 1950-51.

During his "farewell address" Gen. MacArthur said, "Old soldiers never die they just fade away."

I would add to this that old soldiers who display insubordination and poor judgment need to be fired.

Sunday Mornings: Reflections on the Sacredness of Fatherhood

2010-06-20T09:35:00.000-07:00

Sunday mornings growing up were some great days for me, primarily because I used to love the preparation for church. It was truly a ritual. For example, I remember vividly watching my father in the mirror shaving and eagerly awaiting my own portion of shaving cream that he would place on my small face. He also handed me my own razor (that still had the cap on it). Once I was ready, we began to shave. I mimicked his every razor stroke and face contortion.

Of course, I did not have anything to shave off (and wouldn't until I was almost thirty), but it was simply the fact that my father was doing it that made it something that I needed to do as well. After shaving, it was time to go check out our suits and then pick out ties...he tied a windsor knot and I had my clip-on ready. For years I wondered why my father didn't just get a clip-on like me...it was so much easier I thought, but again, there was something magical about watching him tie his knot. The final preparation was putting on our shoes (that we shined to perfection Saturday night before bed). After we were dressed there was that last look in the mirror and the big smile on my fathers face, then his usual "Okay let's go!"

I am thankful to have such memories and the importance of them is not lost on me at all. As I get older those memories mean more and more. I cherish them. Living in a society that seems to want to daily reaffirm the notion that African American fatherlessness is some deep seated socio-cultural pathology, I recall Sunday mornings.

Someone asked me this weekend, "Vernon what are you going to get your father for Father's Day?" My response was "Nothing." They looked shocked and dismayed, so I qualified my statement by saying that "everyday is 'Father's Day' for me." I know that did not choose my father and ever since his illness almost claimed his life in 2005, our bond has been stronger. Each moment is a gift, and I am blessed.

The relationship between my father and I is likely the single most important human interaction in my short life. That is no disrespect to the influence of my dear mother, for she has also played an integral part in my maturation, but the father/son dynamic is just a different exchange.

Growing up in the church as I did, the scripture found in Proverbs 22:6 was something that was heard frequently, "train a child up the way he should go and when he is old, he will not depart from it,"(NKJV). That scripture was not simply an indoctrination of parents, but also children. Well, it was more akin to a contract in my view, it was certainly no brain washing. We were ever cognizant of the symbiotic relationship within our families. Children were a direct reflection of parents and vice versa. So, there was always this sense of accountability that permeated the relationship with my father.

He has never asked anything of his family that he would not ask of himself. One of my lasting memories is of an exchange between my father and a friend of his. I grew up on a ranch of sorts and my father worked the hell out of me (the funny thing is that now I love working outside with him). I was outside cleaning the stables one day, moving one wheel barrel of horse manure after another, sweating in the summer heat and humidity of St. Louis, Missouri. I overheard the friend tell my father, "Vernon that boy of yours is doing a good job. He's still in school. He ain't never been locked up--and no babies running around. You did good by him." I thought about what he said and I agreed in a more self actualizing way akin more to arrogance, and thought to myself, "Yeah, I am a good son!"

My father's words took all the self-congratulatory wind out of my sails. "I've done okay by my son," he dryly responded, "but I won't know how I did by him until I see his children. If his children do well, then so did I." Hearing this, I was floored. In that one moment, the gravity of what fatherhood really was weighed on me like I was mythical Atlas. More than ever, I knew just how my future was tied to my father's. Being a father was a lot more serious than I had envisioned. It was not simply playing catch, nor helping with homework, learning how to ride a bike, or giving advice about relationships with women, or dealing with the politics of school/work/society, it was in fact all those things and much more.

Today, when I go home I see my father care for my paternal grandfather, Pastor John Mitchell, Sr., (who I call "Papa"), who is suffering from dementia. The three of us sit and talk, or try to. My grandfather is slowly starting to forget certain things, but I sit and marvel at the fact that we can sit--three generations of men in my family. I think about my friends who do not have the familial situation I have, and again I'm thankful. This is none of my doing, and I've done nothing to deserve the love I have been given.

During visits with my grandfather, my father cuts Papa's hair. When I see my father cutting my grandfather's hair I remember my grandfather saying to me once, "Son, always remember, 'once a man twice a child, time brings about a change,'" explaining how we as human beings go through life strong once and in the winter of our years we are more dependent on others, just as a child is.

I recall Sunday mornings. I remember the ritual.

I can only hope and pray that when the time comes, I can be at least half the father my father is to me.

GUEST POST: The “Great Marriage Myth”

2010-05-25T16:07:00.000-07:00

By Jessica C. Harris, Ph.D.

On Monday, May 15, I was counted among the millions who watched Will and Jada Pinkett-Smith’s interview with Oprah Winfrey. When the interview began, I expected to walk away encouraged by what, for all practical purposes, I believed was an example of a successful marriage. However, by the end of the interview, instead of encouraged, I was frustrated. To say that I was baffled by my response to the interview is an understatement. I have been surrounded by examples of healthy and loving marriages throughout my life and because of that, I have an incredibly positive and far from cynical perspective on the institution. Nonetheless, after a few days of processing the interview, and my reaction to it, I have been able to pinpoint why the interview left me feeling as I did. I discovered that more so than the Smiths, my reaction was the result of what I feared viewers, particularly female viewers, would take away from the interview.

I was concerned that the glamorized, cookie-cutter, “model” of marriage that many of us witnessed on Oprah would yet again perpetuate what I call the “Great Marriage Myth.” It’s the fantasy of marriage that I have seen lead some many of my friends to the altar and then, just as quickly to divorce court. The “Great Marriage Myth” is this idea that one can expect and will have a healthy, happy, and successful marital relationship, with minimal to no effort. For those of us who watched the Smiths on Oprah, ours, of course, was a very superficial engagement with their marriage. However, that did not stop the onslaught of text messages, phone calls and e-mails that I received from a number of female friends and colleagues, who after watching that interview said to me, “I would love a marriage like theirs…” There is absolutely nothing wrong with wanting and desiring to have a healthy and successful marriage and family “like” the Smiths. But in many instances, that remark was being made with no thought upon the work involved in reaching such perceived heights of martial bliss.

Perhaps I expected too much to come from that interview? Maybe I expected that the Smiths would have revealed much more about their marital journey—beyond the surface. When you have a platform, such as they have and you are able to reach as many as they are able to reach, therein lies an opportunity to share with others some helpful tidbits about how you have reached certain pinnacles in your life. In this instance, given that the topic was marriage, perhaps it was too lofty of me to have expected them to share instances of how they may have overcome challenges, what they have learned, what they are continuing to learn, etc. Perhaps they had their own agenda to put forth and with that, their level of transparency would only go so far.

Perhaps I expected too much from other viewers? Maybe I thought that more people would, particularly for themselves, move beyond the glitz and glamour of what they saw to discern the hidden questions about marriage and relationships. But given the responses I personally received and from reading comments spread throughout cyberspace, that sort of processing and analysis, for the most part, did not occur.

While I realize that I have no control over what anybody does or how anybody thinks, I can at least pose a challenge to those who are married or who desire to be. My challenge is simply to keep things in perspective and go deeper. Before looking at a couple and desiring what they have or what you think they have, ask yourself some hard questions. Look beyond what you see—beyond fantasies of a platinum wedding, with a dress from Kleinfeld and a suburban home with 2.5 kids—to inquire and understand more about the journey. As my mom always says, “you can’t have the testimony, without the test.” So with that, I ask those of you who sent me those texts, e-mails, and made those phone calls, and perhaps those who did not, to ask yourself are you ready to meet the challenges and do the work necessary to not only attain the type marriage you desire but to sustain it?

Eddie S. Glaude and Josef Sorett on Blogging HeadsTV discuss "THE" Black Church

2010-04-05T15:35:00.000-07:00

Eddie S. Glaude, Jr. (Princeton) and Josef Sorett (Columbia) have a very engaged conversation about the black church as an institution which is built upon a recent essay written by Prof. Glaude entitled, "The Black Church is Dead." I hope you enjoy this discourse between two very outstanding scholars as much as I have. This is hardly the last word on this topic both from an intellectual or pragmatic point of view, but it definitely helps to frame the future of the study of religion in the African American experience and also conversations we have outside of the walls of the academy.

Also be sure to read: "Updated with Response: The Black Church is Dead—Long Live the Black Church" by Anthea Butler, Johnathan L. Walton, William D. Hart, Josef Sorett, Ronald B. Neal, Edward J. Blum, and Eddie Glaude, Jr.

Remembering Marvin Gaye: Patron Saint of the Merging of the Sacred and Secular

2010-04-02T16:15:00.000-07:00

Today, April 2, marks the birthday of one my favorite artists, the legendary R&B singer, Marvin Gaye. His death on April 1, 1984 rings out in my childhood memory like watching the NASA Challenger tragedy. If memory serves me correctly, I was in the car with my father when the news broke over the radio waves.

I grew up in a house where Marvin Gaye's music was always being played. Though I knew of his early Motown hits, it was the older Marvin that I came to appreciate. For instance, when he sang the national anthem at the NBA All-Star Game in 1983:

Of course, this was the not first time that he ever sang the anthem at a public sporting event on television (he also sang for the 1979 Larry Holmes v. Ernie Shavers fight, which was more traditional). Even in his earlier renditions of the song it was definitely Marvin.

I won't draw this out into some long essay about Marvin Gaye (thought at some point I'd like to and likely will), but I think he was that special kind of artist that truly and some ways completely personified the coexistence of the sacred and secular aspects in African American culture. You can hear the gospel medleys in the classic tunes "Pride and Joy", "Can I Get a Witness", the passionate pleas for love in "Distant Lover" and "Let's Get it On", or even the classic "What's Going On", Gaye is keyed right into the prophetic aspects of our expressive culture.

I think that innate ability--to tap into and embody our emotions, especially during live performances, is what gave him and so many others, Aretha Franklin, Donny Hathaway, Al Green, Roberta Flack, Patti Labelle, Chaka Khan, and Stevie Wonder (and so many more) the staying power that they have. They are American Music and American Music is Black Music--the very essence of triumph over tragedy, faith amidst hopelessness, joy that emerges from the pain of oppression. They make life beautiful for us all through their music. Marin Gaye was sensual, prophetic, joyful, and had pain that he expressed in his music. I think of him of the patron saint of the sacred and secular. Some may agree or disagree. Regardless, today I'm going to take a minute to just reflect on the music, the man, and his life.

Thank you Marvin for sharing your gift with us. Your music still lives.

Distant Lover (live):

"What's Going On/What's Happening Brother"

"Let's Get it On" (Live)

Sidebar: My favorite tune growing up in the video age was listening and watching "Sexual Healing" though many so called purists of Gaye's music find this tune to not be among his best. My feeling is that Marvin Gaye's music is like wine...you decide what you like and go with it, no matter how critically acclaimed it may or may not be...if the tune speaks to you then that is all that matters. Peace.

"They Say that Freedom is a Constant Struggle": 45th Anniversary of the Selma-Montgomery March

2010-03-22T21:51:00.000-07:00

This week marks the 45th Anniversary of the Selma to Montgomery March (March 21-25). In commemoration, I thought it was more than fitting to post this very moving video. Watch. Listen. Reflect. Remember. As the true patriot Frederick Douglass once said, "Power concedes nothing without a demand, it never did and it never will."

Peace and respect to the memory to those that sacrificed to make this nation live up to its founding documents. Each of us owes them a great debt for their courage.

(make sure your speakers are on)

Faith, Hope and Courage: Health Care Debate Shows Just How Quickly America Can Tap Into Its Shameful Past

2010-03-21T15:43:00.000-07:00

On March 7, 1965, Rep. John Lewis led a march with the Rev. Hosea Williams and around 600 civil rights activists in what was supposed to be sojourn from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama. The march, in large measure was a response to the brutality that African Americans were facing at the hands of whites, especially in the American South. This wanton violence was personified with the murder of Jimmie Lee Jackson by a Alabama state trooper. Jackson was unarmed and shot twice trying to protect his family from being beaten by cowardly officers. Jackson died in Selma from his wounds on February 26. Such a heinous crime cried out for action.

The air across America was growing ever thick and tense with the pungent order of racial hatred. You must remember too that the assassination of Malcolm X occurred on February 21 of that same year. Thus, Lewis and other civil rights activists, including Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., knew that they must respond. Having a march, they believed, was their best opportunity to bring attention to the continued injustice facing African Americans, and also show a sign of resiliency and strength of purpose. To accomplish this task it would take an enormous amount of faith, hope, and courage.

The marchers never got to their destination. They were stopped right at the edge of the Edmund Pettus Bridge, where state and local law enforcement were there to stop the protest. The assembled police ordered Lewis, Williams and those with them, to turn around and proceed back to their churches. They refused. What happened next can only be explained as pure terror, fueled by irrational notions of race superiority and fear.

The "authorities" were on foot and several were on horseback. Recalling the clash with police Lewis lamented, "I remember how vivid the sounds were as the troopers rushed toward us--the clunk of the troopers heavy boots, the whoops of rebel yells from the white onlookers, the clip-clop of horses' hooves hitting the the hard asphalt of the highway, the voice of a woman shouting, 'Get 'em! Get the niggers!'"

Men, women, and children, regardless of age, were severely beaten by the police assembled and the event was later known as "Bloody Sunday". Not only were the protesters and police there, but media crews caught the entire event on tape that the rest of the world saw the next day.

Yesterday, a similar type of incident occurred. While the physical aspects were thankfully not repeated, there were specters of what many post-racial enthusiasts thought had long been wiped from the American psyche with the election of President Barack Obama. Just like old diseases that come back with new strains so too does racial hatred, ignorance, fear and intolerance. Members of the Tea Party movement gathered on Capital Hill to let lawmakers know exactly how they felt them and their proposed bill. Rep. Barney Frank was called a "faggot" and Rep. John Lewis called "nigger" at least fifteen times, by his account (see CBS story). These slurs were the cement the held together loud, vehement, and nasty verbal attacks against these congressman as well as others.

Healthcare reform has certainly become a personal issue. It has once again brought out the worst in America. The way that some Americans demonstrate their displeasure with the health care bill is not only infuriating and disrespectful, but completely antitehical to the Constitution that so many of these less than sane folks claim to love and are allegedly willing to die to protect. They might need to read it again. These inexcusable actions build on the "You Lie!" vitriol screamed out by Rep. Joe Wilson during President Obama's State of the Union Address. Such situations are bitter reminders of a not so distant past. A shameful and inhumane past that too many Americans want to forget or at least not talk about.

A dear colleague posed the question to me this morning in response to news of Reps. Frank and Lewis, "How much of the public outcry--and perhaps that's too light a term--against healthcare is about President Obama's race...and not his politics?"

I posted the question to Twitter and immediately got a response back from a politician running for office in North Carolina. "None," was his response to the race question, as if race has nothing to do with the situation. I'm not so naive. My rebuttal mentioned that I think he and many Americans underestimate the power of race in this debate. As a matter of fact many of them are preying on the same fears that men like Gov. George Wallace, "Bull" Connor, and now Glen Beck use to control those weak of mind and foolish in spirit.

Race is still in issue, I'm afraid to say. However it should not be, no in this debate. I wonder what would if Clinton had gotten this far with health care reform if racial slurs, etc., would be as rapid as they are now? The reality is that race functions in this debate to muddy the waters of political discourse, when the real issue is class conflict, or likely class deterioration. The insurance companies, like Wall Street, need to be regulated in a way that allows for fair compeition, but also protects the consumer.

In the wealthiest nation on the planet (and likely the most indebted) it does not make any sense that we have to go to such lengths to get something done that can help everyone. President Obama mentioned that this health care bill is far from perfect, but it is a beginning. I agree.

One need look only as far as struggle for equality by African Americans to understand this. During the second half of the twentieth century, we were still fighting for freedoms that should have been guaranteed us after the end of the Civil War. However, democracy in theory and in practice are two different things. Forty-five years ago this month, white males armed with batons, clubs, and tear gas beat and brutalized American citizens who chose to act and work toward holitic freedom.

While they marched, other American citizens--men, women and children, filthy from waddling in the muck of bigotry and carrying the vile reek of insane conceptions of white supremacy, shouted slurs and epithets at the marchers just as members of the Tea Party hurled at congressmen yesterday. Iroinically enough, what we are seeing is like the next generation of "Bloody Sunday" historical actors. Like Civil War reenactors, they gladly put on the uniform of decent and armed with a jaded dogma that reinforces the same type of white nationalism that continues to keep this nation from being what it could be, and keeps many of them from living out the American dream they fantasize about.

Maybe despite the virulent tone of agitation, faith, hope and courage will win out on Capital Hill as congressmen vote on health care reform. Regardless, let yesterday's attacks be reminders of what American is--an imperfect union.

Book Review: "Music…like Life, is a Struggle"

2010-03-09T05:51:00.000-08:00

I think we each come to appreciate music not solely for the way that it makes us feel, but because of the inherent struggle that it comes to represent. In some way a chord, lyric, and in this case a break beat come to represent so much more than a song...it can symbolize a particular moment in one's life or an entire lifetime. Music is transformative in that way. If you speak to the earliest blues musicians they would tell you that the blues was something much bigger than a song, but represented the joys and the pains of life. It was not just a musical genre, but also the very essence of an expressive culture. The latest incarnation of American music--hip-hop is no different. Born from similar oppression and injustice, hip-hop was the child borne of the oppressive public policies and the urban decay of the South Bronx in New York City. Hip-hop and its associative culture is truly what Tupac called, "The Rose the Grew from Concrete."

In "It's Just Begun: The Epic Journey of DJ Disco Wiz, Hip Hop's First Latino DJ," Ivan Sanchez and Luis "DJ Disco Wiz" Cedeno demonstrate how one of the first roses grew from the hard unforgiving concrete of the South Bronx. Sanchez and Cedeno (DJ Disco Wiz) take you on a voyage that exemplifies the beautiful, ugly, fragile, and precious aspects that are the tracks of the album that is DJ Disco Wiz's life.

History, I am often reminded, is not just about events, places, or particularly people by themselves. History does not occur in a vacuum, but it is the very interconnectivity of events, places, and people that are the fabric of history, and in a successful biography you get a glimpse of how the subject is affected by the changes in the world around them, and also you see their place as a historical actor. Sanchez and Cedeno are able to masterfully accomplish such a synthesis of story telling, history, and memoir. Whether discussing the infamous 1977 New York City blackout's reciprocal effects in the Bronx or the 9/11 attacks, you are thrust into the life of DJ Disco Wiz in a very real way.

What is truly wonderful about this book is that it unabashedly is HIP-HOP. It baptizes the reader with the destructive forces that turned America's urban centers into ethnic ghettos and their inhabitants into survivors who still fight and scrape to not only survive, but also maintain their humanity in circumstances that many of us cast a blind eye to--even if we came from those same unforgiving streets. It's Just Begun is not simply just some hip-hop remix of an Horatio Alger story, but DJ Disco Wiz's life embodies the raw, unedited, mind numbing funk that hip-hop can be, while simultaneously encapsulating the love of family, community, and self.

In a time where so called hip-hop intellectuals pontificate and theorize about the impact of the music and culture and largely only pay attention to singular aspects of hip- hop culture--namely rapping--DJ Disco Wiz lays a template down just like the "mix plates" that he and Curtis "Grandmaster Caz" Fisher created in his apartment for their shows. While it is important to make space in the academy for hip-hop, we must listen to the voices of the people that were there, no different than we cherish and pay homage to freedom fighters of social movements or the lions of jazz and the kings and queens of the blues. If you claim to "love" hip-hop, this book must be purchased and read.

(Hangin' out with legends in 2008 at Cornell University's Hip-Hop Conference; (l to r) DJ Disco Wiz, Negrointellectual, Grandmaster Caz/Casanova Fly, & DJ Tony Tone)

Let's Quit the Pulpittin'!

2009-12-12T13:53:00.000-08:00

(He'll be back. Just wait.)

I told a number of people that I was not going to comment on Tiger Woods, and have tried not to. However, with the continued media blitz that has become the "24hr Tiger News cycle" (ESPN has given him his own ticker on their family of networks) and the recent announcement that he was taking an indefinite leave from golf prompted me to write (outside of the 140 characters allowed me on Twitter).

Let me state from the outset--I am a Tiger Woods fan and have been one since I started playing golf in 1996. Even before that, I was intrigued by the game as I watched Calvin Peete and Jim Dent as a kid. To get more exposure to the game, I worked as a caddy at Glen Echo Country Club, one of the oldest and historic golf courses in my hometown of St. Louis. Thus, I became quite aware of the culture around the game, the good and the bad. Historically, golf has not been that inviting to African Americans. Despite that fact, we continued to play (shout out to Lee Elder and the brothers and sisters who played on segregated courses).

Tiger means a lot to the game. Not just in terms of money. I'm sure he gave me and so many other young golfers hope that we could not only play, but win. I watched his amateur rise and this meteoric ascension to become the face of the PGA and the creation his own industry (Tiger is a business and a brand name). I never thought there would be an athlete more popular than Michael Jordan--I was wrong.

I still remember laughing as I heard Jeffery Wright's character, "Peoples" in director John Singleton's remake of Shaft (2000), starring Samuel L. Jackson, where "Peoples" explained in one memorable scene how he loved golf remarking, "Tiger Woods...Tiger Woods--I like him." After seeing that, I knew Tiger was indeed part of popular culture in ways I had not thought of. That said, I can separate my "fandom" from his actions and the world...or really the American media's response to him in the last two weeks.

At a time where we should be focused on healthcare reform, the two wars our nation is involved in, the dilapidated state of our public education system, the growing urban crisis in our cities, or just the crippled economy generally, every media outlet is focused on Tiger. Even a day after President Obama gave his acceptance speech for his Nobel Peace Prize, more attention is focused on Tiger. Why? What does Tiger have to do with national security or job growth? Nothing. However, whenever the media can focus on frivolous scandal it will...remember the situation with Harvard professor, Dr. Henry Louis "Skip" Gates? More time was spent talking about Gates and the officer than Obama and his plan for healthcare reform. Anytime Americans can be distracted from larger issues, we get spoon fed garbage for "news" and like it. We even ask for more.

On the surface, Tiger's story is one of a marriage tried by the perils of infidelity, which alone is not uncommon, especially among high profile celebs. However, this story has grown into a saga all its own with everyone tuned in. Tiger's tale is also very complicated and nuanced. The attention to this situation is not just who Tiger is, it is more about the contested terrain of what he is. The comedic genius of Dave Chappelle gave us the "Racial Draft" where he addressed this issue masterfully claiming Woods 100% African American. Whether or not Tiger self identifies as "black" or "African American" he is still viewed by many blackfolk as "one of us" in some way. Not quite in the same manner that Ali, Bill Russell, Wilma Rudolph, Althea Gibson, Arthur Ashe, Kareem, or Jim Brown were unapologetically black on and off the field of play, but I think the prism through which most blackfolk view Tiger is similar to that of OJ after the verdict.

The support and cheers for OJ after the verdict was about exposing a corrupt and unjust justice system that for far too long had aided and abetted death, destruction, and terror upon African Americans, going back to Justice Roger B. Tawney's inhumane and vile opinion that "the Negro has no rights the white man is bound to respect."

A large portion of us cheer on Tiger when he wins just as folk cheered on Jack Johnson, Ali or Joe Lewis in previous generations. Golf has continued to have this "white man's only" vibe that for many represents some of the last vestiges of segregation in public life. Remember Fuzzy Zoeller's comments to Tiger about having fried chicken at the Masters after his first win there in 1997, or the Golf Channel commentator who made the dreaded "lynch him" comment? Tiger seemed not to be phased by any of it, electing to keep a low profile about each racialized episode. Unfortunately, he was not afforded the same grace he gave.

Tiger created and maintained a gentlemanly demeanor...this premier competitor of competitors who, off the course, was a dedicated family man. The only emotion shown there was that of outward love of his family. That was his image and it paid huge dividends. Now that image is tarnished not just by what he did...which I am by no means condoning, but how it was sensationalized by the media. If these women that keep coming forward couldn't get their fifteen minutes of fame and the possibility of a quick check, you would have never heard about them.

I agree with Jack Nicklaus who, when asked about his thoughts on Tiger remarked, "It's none of my business." The American public should remember that. The prescribed hypocritical puritanical notions Americans have placed on marriage...have been exacerbated by viral media coverage from TMZ.com to the so called reliable networks of NBC, CBS, ABC, and CNN. Right now they all look the same when it comes to anything have to do with Woods.

We must remember Tiger is not an elected public official, nor is he a religious figure or cleric. He is not a leader of a social movement. He is simply an athlete...and a damn good one at that. We have seen that he is a man--made of flesh and blood like the rest of us and capable of the same shortcomings that MANY of us have. Again, I am not condoning his behavior, nor particularly rushing to his defense.

What I am saying is that I am profoundly frustrated at the referendum on morality that has begun by media pariahs like Nancy Grace and so many more. Our nation has more important concerns than what Tiger has been doing outside of his marriage. Unfortunately, in a world, or at least a nation, consumed by "reality TV" this omnipresent voyeurism takes hold and enables American passivity and ignorance about the things that really do matter, while keeping a healthy distance from our own accountability.

Will Tiger overcome this? Yes. When he wins his next major tournament this will be a distant memory. If David Letterman can rise and President Bill Clinton can become as important as he was to the 2008 election and even afterward (and there is no mention of Monica Lewinsky), and if as my man Jay "Average Bro" Anderson writes, about how we don't associate infidelity with actor Morgan Freeman, Tiger can and will be back (check his post here). At the end of the day, if Tiger was white or his wife was black, this would not be an issue. Let's be honest here...America is still tragically fascinated and debilitated by the historical construction of race.

Tiger thought that he could redefine himself and the post racial debate. He was wrong. Paul Mooney would call moments like this a "N*gga Wake Up Call" or that Tiger was caught up in "the illusion of inclusion"--to say that he believed that he was such a beloved figure that he had transcended race much like OJ believed he had. I'm sure Tiger thought this situation would just "go away"...in time it will, but not before Tiger is reminded not of what he says he is, but what society views him as. If you think I'm overstating this fact, look at a few of the members of the PGA who have publicly denounced Woods, some writers, such as Hank Gola, are even calling for him to be banned from the PGA (read Gola's story here).

As I sit here and think about it...Tiger can deal with this as he chooses to. His first obligation is to his family and his family alone. He owes us nothing. Maybe if he had taken control of the situation in the manner in which David Letterman had his own scandal Tiger could have dodged some of the media hype. Maybe not. I just hope that he does not cower to society the way so many other black athletes have. My advice, if I could offer any, would be to be to tell Tiger read about Jack Johnson...or better yet watch Ken Burns' documentary Unforgivable Blackness. Learn some valuable lessons from his life and apply them to your own. You set the parameters of the debate and be self defining. I would address the media once and once only...never to speak of this topic again. Whatever you do, don't cower, don't hide. Handle your family and get back to playing golf. The haters want to see you walk away from the game. Don't give them the pleasure (but maybe he already has).

Outside of the racial, class, and gendered dynamics of this craziness, and the continued analysis I could provide (which I've done more than I wanted), I think I'll leave you with this hip-hop quotable. On Jay-Z's, "American Gangster" album there is a tune called "Ignorant Sh*t". The song rests on a slick "Between the Sheets" sample from the Isley Brothers. Jay-Z mentions toward the end of the tune, "Now stop the bullshittin' Til' we all without sin, let's quit the pullpittin', c'mon!"

On Chris Rock's Docusploitation: Let Black Women "Do" Our Own Hair! (GUEST POST)

2009-10-29T16:27:00.000-07:00

By Tikia K. Hamilton

Admittedly, a friend had prepared me in advance for some of the inadequacies to be found in Chris Rock's film Good Hair, and I am probably a bit behind the rest of the world (and I do mean rest of the world, see problems with film below) in viewing it. Still, it left me with a few thoughts...The very first problem with the movie is that it is told through the eyes of a person who can never truly experience what it means to be a black woman living amidst a world of images that reinforce the notion that, while black can sometimes be trendy, it can never truly represent the highest attainment of beauty.

While Rock might be able to sympathize with his daughters and perhaps even a wife addicted to "creamy crack," he is in some ways like the whites and Asians (and Indians) whom he criticizes for their “blacksploitation” in profiting from black women’s hair obsessions. Of course, that he is a comedian makes the film at times comical, but, in truth, the conflicting messages that he promotes about black women's obsessive compulsive behavior sure ain't funny.

Perhaps Rock thought he was doing something by interviewing the likes of Nia Long, Salt N Pepa, Ms. Video Vixen herself, and even Maya Angelou (who currently sports what she says is her very first perm), and pimpomatic Ice-T (goodness!). For a moment, I thought there was a glimmer of hope when Pepa tells of how she actually burned her hair to the scalp (and then tried to hide it by coloring in the bald spot with brown makeup and the asymmetrical hairstyle that wound up becoming popular as a result, she says). But then, when she goes on to state how she must have the “very finest human hair” for her one-piece (i.e. wig vs. weave), I knew that the film could go nowhere but down from that point.

With perhaps one or two exceptions, all of the other women seem to affirm Pep’s perceptions of what makes good hair, or should we say, a good weave…I must say that I was even surprised by Maya Angelou’s final words of wisdom for the film—“a woman’s hair is her crown and glory.” Not her mind, not her unwavering confidence, not even the proud hat that the church lady dons on Sunday, but her hair. (Ironically, Maya Angelou offers the forward to Michael Cunningham’s Crowns: Portraits of Black Women in Church Hats, Doubleday, 2000.) hmmm…

The most compelling part of the film (for me) comes when Rock visits India to find the true source of all of this “good hair.” But for the white companies that have usurped all but four (we’re told) black hair product manufacturing companies; but for some Korean and Chinese shops who tell us, unlike the shiny, luxurious Indian hair, it would be nigh impossible for them to vend nappy, “unhygienic” hair to their customers; and but for the black hair designer, himself sporting a perm, and who pimps weave to black women on the regular, we truly see the problem with the hair “care” market from start to finish. It’s like California grapes all over again, except this time, it’s a black market where women can literally lose their hair if they but blink in the theatre or in their own beds. Rock’s message: BLACK WOMEN YOU ARE CONTRIBUTING TO THE EXPLOITATION of impoverished Indians who believe their sacrifice of hair (whether stolen or voluntarily offered as a religious gesture) exalts them to a higher plain of spirituality. BLACK WOMEN, WHY YOU LITTLE DEVILS!

Now, I didn’t readily see the connection between Rock’s focus on the annual Bronner Brothers hair show, which, from where I stand, is pure performance. But I did see the somber look on one girl’s face when she was told by her fellow beauty school cohort that they would never hire her because her afro made her look “not put together,” or for Rock’s purposes, “not relaxed,” perhaps scary even (like Angela Davis, maybe…) Speaking of proud black women proudly sporting unpermed hair (for, the term "natural" makes nonpermed hair seem so exotic, “unnactural” even…isn’t it all just hair, anyway? Dead at that?)—where the hell they? Or don’t they make it to the cover of magazines, films, or past the first interview? Oh, there was one in the film: She was a darker-skinned black woman with a closely cropped croif. She stood right behind Rock and other black men in the barber shop as they mutually agreed that a woman gotta come correct with her hair or she ain’t getting’ it. (Ok, maybe I’m paraphrasing, but the point is, what must that woman have felt as her brothers basically or literally vanquished her beauty to the background? Absent perms, maybe the same way Rock’s young daughters feel in school? I’m just sayin!)

So, let me get this straight (no pun intended). Not only are Black women to blame for Indian exploitation (as if that’s not enough), but we’re damned if we pursue ends that we think and most evidence seems to prove will make us more appealing to black men and society at large, and we’re damned if we don’t. Well, hell, it seems we can’t win…but what else is new?

If, as a black man, Chris Rock wanted to make a movie about “good hair,” maybe he should have simply focused on the men in the barber shop, while interrogating and scrutinizing comments like that of D.L. Hughley, a fellow comic, such as when he once said that he had to be able to run a comb through his woman’s head…none of that nappy stuff. (Or maybe he could have asked some of them about those wave caps.) Ok, so we get it that, just as any and every black woman will go broke trying to afford a thousand dollar weave, a black man can also broke in trying to keep his lady looking good. But, he could also save a helluva lot of money if, in mixed and unmixed company, he contained his drool over the likes of Beyonce, Tyra, Nia who, to hear many tell it, are the “trufe” when it comes to flawless beauty.

What’s more, if he really wanted to instruct his daughters on lessons in blackness, he should have first studied a bit of history (can we say Madame CJ Walker?); next he should have further interrogated Mr. Diggs (the exceptionally talented, botoxed white man who was a favorite to win in the BB hairshow, even as he had nearly nude black women prancing around him), or Revlon, or Clairol for the “wages of their whiteness” when it comes to exploiting the black dollar and an unattainable standard they created for most any woman. If that’s asking too much, it’s ok. Chris has his career in buffoonery, I mean comedy safely protected by the white world… So why not let black women do our own hair (stories) and leave the social criticisms to the professionals? For contrary to belief there are among us educated folk who do this—and do this well—for a living.

A Thankful 31st...

2009-10-19T20:37:00.000-07:00

I thought I would take the opportunity to write something briefly about my day of birth. This is, however, not an attempt and at promotion or some weird intellectual vanity, but a young man taking an honest inventory of himself (hopefully briefly as I have the tendency to be long winded sometimes).

On this day at 4:06pm at Jewish Hospital in St. Louis, Missouri, Norma and Vernon Mitchell welcomed their first child into the world--Me! Now thirty-one years later, here I am. So where is "here" and "Who Am I"?

This birthday has been quite a reflective one as I have looked back over my brief life and thought about "What have I done?"(especially since I am now on the other side of thirty). Was Jay-Z right? is this the new twenty? I'm not so sure. I would like to think so since my generation is doing thing much later than my parents' generation did.

My sister left me a voice mail message this morning where she mentioned, "Brother it is time to start looking back ain't it? It's time for some reflection." She is so right.

As a thinker and an academic in training my mind is constantly engaged with ideas and concepts even when I don't necessary want to. Sometimes I wish I could turn my brain off to sit back and "do nothing." However, I don't think that is in my blood to holistically "do nothing."

I will say that I am especially thankful for life on this day...because I realize more and more that life is a beautiful, ugly, fragile and equally precious thing. As I woke up this morning I thought about the number of people like my paternal grandmother Rosie Mae Mitchell and one of my best friends, Brian Barton, who have transcended this existence. Both of them, and a host of others who have passed on, had a profound impact on my life. Of the two I mentioned, Brian did not see his 31st birthday as I have.

I thought about what each of them might say to me today. My grandmother would offer some sage wisdom and the love that only a grandma can give and Brian would no doubt say something that was funny as hell. I miss them both.

A friend posed the question to me today in an email, "Vernon what do you want to do this year that you didn't do last year? What do you want accomplish?"

My quick response to that question is that my goal is still the same. I hope to have challenged folk to think outside themselves and their situations to impact positive change in someone's life other than their own. While history is part of my profession, it also is an important part of my life and the circuitous path I have taken to get to where I am today. I am solely a result of previous sacrifices made by so many, and I am thankful.

I only hope that as I live my life through my own mistakes and successes, I have done their collective memory justice. Fame and fortune have not been part of my life and may never be, but if I have helped at least one person along my own short life's journey then my living will not have been in vain.

Lord willing this time next year, I'll be talking about graduation and a job...and I'll be that much more thankful as I celebrate another trip around the sun.

Peace and Respect.

A Peace Mandate for Each of Us--Not Just the President

2009-10-12T10:52:00.000-07:00

This past Friday not just Americans, but likely the world was shocked by the announcement that the 44th President of the United States, Mr. Barack Hussien Obama was selected as the 2009 Awadee for the Nobel Peace Prize. Mr. Obama himself mentioned in his comments at the White House Rose Garden that he was, "surprised and deeply humbled by the decision of the Nobel Committee." Of course this has not been enough for both many of supporters and all of his detractors and socio-political enemies. He seems live in a world where he is damned if he does or damned if he doesn't...no matter what it is.

I read and re-read several blogs and op-ed pieces before writing this post today. Once such post by NYTimes columnist Thomas L. Friedman entitled, "Peace (Keepers) Prize." He makes the argument that "The Nobel committee did President Obama no favors by prematurely awarding him its peace prize." He goes on to say "...and it dismays me that the most important prize in the world has been devalued in this way." Devalued? I was floored at that assertion. Very harsh words to say the least. The rest of his column is a speech that Friedman feels Obama should give, where he thanks all of the soldiers who have been "keeping the world safe." Thus, the thought is, there is no peace without peace keepers. However "peacekeepers" don't have to be the military. I thought the article was more than arrogant and extremely dismissive, but I wanted again to see what was being said.

Another NYTimes contributor Marueen Dowd, wrote a fictional and deeply satirical phone conversation between Bill Clinton and George W. Bush. Here I was given a bit more insight to another take on the issue that was creatively written but still I found troubling in some ways. The best line is from Bill Clinton where he says, "Any peace prize that goes to Henry Kissinger but not Gandhi ain’t worth a can of Alpo." That got me thinking as well. However it was a conversation with my father, Vernon Mitchell, Sr., that really made me reflect.

"Pop what do you think about Obama and the Peace Prize?" I inquired. "Well, I think it is a great honor no matter what folks are saying. We have to look at President Obama's global impact, not just his impact on American soil." That made me think. "Look back to the election," my father proclaimed. "Folks all over the world were rejoicing at what the election of Obama meant for them. We cannot underestimate that." I couldn't agree more.

So the question still remains, "Was it too soon?" Maybe. However, I am not inclined to give such arguments that much weight. The decision was made by the Nobel committee was one that I am certain they mulled over again and again, knowing full well the possible political implications for Mr. Obama. All we can do now it accept what is, in the hope that the award will continue the push toward progress and holistic freedom for those who lie on the fringes of economic opportunity and peace.

As a historian, I also began to think about context, which is what I believe my father was doing in his own way. When I think back to last November I distinctly remember the news coverage that showed people, and children in particular, all over the world cheering and crying tears of joy. I remember thinking what does this mean to them?

I knew what it meant to me as an African American, but what were the global implications? For one Obama's election signaled the first time that anyone of African descent (or non-white) was elected the leader of a Western Nation. That is huge when you think about the legacy of colonialism and imperialism has ransacked the globe from the Transatlantic Slave Trade to Europe's carving up of the African continent. Think too about Asia, Austrilia, and the lands in the Pacific. All have been adversely effected by encrouchment from the West and many deivstating ways. Even now.

Ironically today is Columbus Day. The day that has been set aside to honor the "discovery" of a new world that just happened to already have people living in it. I think not of discovery, but of destruction of culture and a celebration of human tragedy via the so called free market. Within the field of history we speak constantly of the "Columbian Exchange" which is a term used to discuss the "exchange of culture" between the Spaniards and native indigenous populations in the Western Hemisphere. While we think pleasantly of corn(maize), horses, and potatoes, no one wants to discuss the impact of diseases like small pox or syphilis. So, Obama being in the White House is transformative in ways we, as Americans, can only begin to imagine. He is the personification of hope, of dreams deferred for the global community.

Those who view the 2009 Peace Prize as a mockery I'm sure had nothing to say when Al Gore recieved for his efforts to inform the world about the climate change. Then again maybe they likely did. I take heart in the fact that President Obama is keenly aware of his position in time and takes everything in stride. Obama accepted the award as a "call to action" to confront the global challenges of the 21st century. Furthermore he stated, "I do not view it as a recognition of my own accomplishments but rather an affirmation of American leadership on behalf of aspirations held by people in all nations."

Obama's remarks about his prize sound very similar to another American who won the same prize. On December 10, 1964, Martin Luther King remarked during his acceptance speech, "I accept this award today with an abiding faith in America and an audacious faith in the future of mankind. I refuse to accept despair as the final response to the ambiguities of history."

Premature or not, this is just another chance for this nation to show itself to be what it says on paper.

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."

Those coveted words were penned on July 4, 1776 and have been the bedrock of our so called democracy. More Americans need to wash off the dirt of pessimism and the filth of ignorance and arrogance and cleanse themselves in the waters of justice and peace that we affirm in the words of our Declaration of Independence.

I've said this before and I'll say it again, President Obama cannot do this alone. It will take the work of each of us in our own way to see the transformation we want in this troubled republic. For now, let us each accept the Peace Prize with our president and roll up our sleeves to do the real work nation building at home and abroad. Violent action can only secure peace for a limited time--if you want to call that "peace" at all. Respect, tolerance, and education can do much more than any weapon ever could to establish a true communion of global brotherhood.

Sacred and Secular Homecoming: Maxwell's Blacksummers'night Tour Rolls Through St. Louis

2009-10-07T07:52:00.000-07:00

Hanging out in the studio...reppin' the STL with Maxwell
(l to r, Me, Shedrick, Keyon (in front), Max, and Keyon's brother Emmanuel)

Maxwell not only has the hottest new album out, but his new tour might equal, if not eclipse the accolades that the studio production is receiving. After an eight year hiatus, Maxwell is back and this weekend his BLACKsummers'night Tour will hit St. Louis.

Maxwell's new album boasts a sound that blends love with laughter, pain with perseverance. BLACKsummers'night is the marriage of Maxwell's soulful, intimate, and inspiring vocals to the superb musicianship of an outstanding band. Two of those band members, Shedrick Mitchell and Keyon Harrold, are St. Louis natives that are excited about their homecoming this Friday.

For both Shedrick and Keyon the black church was an integral part of their musical and personal coming of age. Shedrick began playing the piano and organ for his grandfather's congregation and later for his father's church, (both located in Kinloch, MO). Keyon played the trumpet in much the same way. Family and faith were one in the same. "The church is the basis of my playing...it is that soul that other cats can't learn," Keyon mentions. Elaborating further, Shedrick suggests that there is an invaluable asset to growing up in the church as he and Keyon did. For Shedrick, the church, "prepared me for everything that I've encountered to maintain and stay on the scene...to have longevity and musically stay alert with my onstage surroundings."

Being alert is an important part of playing with Maxwell it seems. Shedrick calls Maxwell a "spontaneous entertainer" referencing the fact that working with him whether in the studio or especially live, the singer "keeps you on your toes. " Likewise, Keyon finds that Maxwell's ability to allow each band member freedom that does not compromise their own sound, while still contributing to something innovative and new is important as well. Keyon admits, "I feel like I'm playing my music every night--that's a blessing."

This is not that hard to believe. Keyon says that working with Maxwell has been a "musically stimulating experience, " from the standpoint that they "have created incredible music together...and there's still more levels of creativity to be dealt with."

Generally speaking, that very "creativity" emerges from both sacred and secular forms of music. Those musical roots have been equally significant in the musical maturation of Shedrick and Keyon. Both musicians cite gospel and jazz as their biggest musical influences. In Shedrick's case in particular it was Miles Davis' "Kind of Blue" (1959) and Chick Corea's Akoustic Band's "Alive" (1991) album that really began to expand his musical horizons.

In much the same way, Keyon found his inspiration through the work of Davis too. "The album I fell in love with was the "Birth of the Cool","(1949) mentions Keyon. The sound and tone of Miles' trumpet on the tune "Boplicity" reaffirmed his love for the instrument and jazz music when he first heard it around age twelve.

Aside from a shared experience of family and faith, Shedrick and Keyon are products of the same high school in St. Louis (McCluer Senior High) and also attended Mannes College The New School for Music in New York City. These master musicians have played with the best artists in almost every genre of music: jazz, gospel, rock, R&B, country, and rap. Shedrick and Keyon last played together with iconic rapper Jay-Z on his American Gangster Tour.

Now together again, playing for Maxwell, Shedrick and Keyon bring their extraordinary talents into a volatile cauldron of creativity that will both grab at your heart and enliven your spirit. Specifically, you can hear the spontaneous, smooth, effortless, and yet robust sound of Keyon's trumpet on full display when Maxwell performs "Playing Possum". Shedrick personifies the sacred and secular mastery of the Hammond B3 organ as he commands the instrument like no other. His solos ring out like a divine messenger calling us to serve in "Help Somebody" while his chords are enchanting in the sultry, intoxicating "Bad habits".

Both musicians are able to accomplish such musical feats, along with their bandmates, without ever overpowering the vocal stylings of Maxwell. Shedrick and Keyon remain students of their craft. Shedrick maintains, "it's very important for me to always be a student of the music because I never want to become complacent with where I am...music is always evolving and it's very important that I keep my ears to the ground to stay fresh and current."

BLACKsummers'night is more than "fresh and current". When I first heard this album in November of last year, in its earliest incarnations, I knew it would change and revitalize an industry starving for creativity, purpose, and passion.

Maxwell has done it again, and Shedrick and Keyon are valuable assets to the continued growth of Maxwell's artistry, while staying true to their own sound.

To say that both musicians are excited about their homecoming is truly an understatement. "St. Louis is going to have an unforgettable night of music...Maxwell is going to croon and I'm going to keep it soulful and sexy," Keyon comments. Shedrick is assured that his hometown is in for a unique experience. "They can expect a night of musical romance, " he professes. As far as his own contribution to the concert Shedrick declares "...it will be a great night for everyone...for my family...for the fans as well because everyone will be family that night. People won't know if they are in a store front baptist church or an Alabama juke joint!" "PIANOMAN",(Shedrick's musical alias), promises "the concert will give you the sacred and secular in no particular order."

Ironically enough Shedrick's forthcoming solo project is called "The Sacred and the Secular". His first album "Introducing Shedrick Mitchell" was released independently in 1996. Keyon just recently released his own solo project, "Introducing Keyon" in September on the Criss Cross Jazz label while also producing a remix of Maxwell's "Pretty Wings" with his brother Jason.

St. Louis prepare for a helluva show!

There is WORK to be Done!

2009-09-20T12:02:00.000-07:00

On this Sunday morning I sat reflected on one of my favorite parables from the Bible. It is the story of the rich man who was a fool. Found in the twelfth chapter of Luke, verses 13-21, it recounts the all too familiar story of a man who is only concerned with himself and while he wades in the waters of self-righteousness and selfishness, he famously extols that he will build bigger store houses for himself then he will relax, “eat, drink, and be merry.” That parable is still apropos today.

Over the past few months it seems that many of the one-time “die hard” supporters of President Obama have become that rich man in one way or another. They say that he is not as progressive as he should be. They question whether or not he is cowering too much to corporate interests and the associative lobbies. They wonder if the GOP has his number, as they search for meaning themselves. Some have even gone as far as to question Mr. Obama’s integrity not just as a politician, but as a man. I think this pessimism and doubt is misplaced.

Where are all the teary eyed, inspired folk who came to see Mr. Obama sworn in on that frigid day in January? Where are the folks who stood transformed by that moment whether they watched on television, computer, or listened to the radio (yes, radio)? I’ll tell where they are. They have retreated back to the safety and warmth of passivity and inaction, governed by a spirit that has, for all practical purposes, given up the very hope that got our president elected in the first place.

I was there too in January and for the first time I actually sang the national anthem, not as a stepchild of democracy, but as one of its standard bearers. I still feel that same way (minus the frost bite). With a more than checkered history of maltreatment and inhumanity born out of the peculiar institution of slavery, I still stand as proud now as I did on that day of this nation for what it can be, and understanding the debt owed to those who gave the ultimate sacrifice to ensure that we would enjoy brighter tomorrows.

Now, that is not to say that I have donned rose colored shades to give me the impression that Barack Obama’s Presidency is some post racial moment, a signal for neo-Black Nationalism, or some kind of reincarnation of the New Deal. It is not. President Obama’s election is merely a watershed moment but requires work of all of us to see the “change” we voted for.

As a boy growing up, I spent many days outside with my father working around our property. We had a few acres that were used primarily to house his horses and that takes work to maintain. I mean WORK. We would go into the fields repairing fences, gates, refurbishing the barn, painting barns, mowing grass, stacking hay…you name it we did it. We would spend all day outside especially on Saturdays. One Saturday, during the middle of those humid Missouri summers, I asked my father, “Daddy, will we ever get all this work done?” He looked back at me and simply said, “Son, there is ALWAYS work to do.”

A democracy works no different. I once listened to one of England’s greatest progressive politicians, Tony Benn. Commenting on how democracy works he simply stated, “If you don’t keep up the pressure for democratic control you lose it…it’s use it or lose it.” Expounding further he warned, “there is never a final victory for democracy it’s always a struggle in every generation and you have to take up the cause time and time again.”

At this moment it is time to take up that struggle. President Obama mentioned during his inaugural address, “as much as government can do and must do, it is ultimately the faith and determination of the American people upon which this nation relies. It is the kindness to take in a stranger when the levees break, the selflessness of workers who would rather cut their hours than see a friend lose their job, which sees us through our darkest hours. It is the firefighter's courage to storm a stairway filled with smoke, but also a parent's willingness to nurture a child, that finally decides our fate.”

During his oration, Obama constantly referenced “we”. Remember his campaign slogan, “Yes WE Can!”? It is high time we recommit those words to memory and engage it through word and deed and not sit back like the rich man who was a fool to relax, eat, drink and be merry. In the Christian Gospel according to John, he recounts Christ telling his disciples “he must work while it is day for night cometh that no man can work,”(John 9:4 KJV). Similarly, we must get busy while the sun of social change is shining, for the darkness of ignorance, intolerance, and bigotry is always looming and lately those shadows seem even more ominous.

We must understand that President Obama is not some messiah sent to wash our sins away…he is man. And as a man he has limitations, just as we all do. We elected him to lead, and to his credit I believe he has tried his best to do that. He will not always succeed, nor will he continually fail. He is leader who is accountable to the citizens, but we all must work just like I did on my father’s ranch. There will not be some great day that we can sit back and reminisce about how “we made it over.” There is no “Promised Land”. That notion, like democracy, is an ideological construct that takes sustained diligence to make manifest. There is always work to be done, now let’s do it!

President Pryor Knew How to Handle Hecklers

2009-09-10T01:06:00.000-07:00

Sheer Genius! Pryor was a man before his time.

President Obama had a similar look when he was heckled, but couldn't react as "President Pryor" did, but I'm sure he wanted to. Would this be life imitating art?

The Audacity of Ignorance

2009-09-09T20:14:00.000-07:00

Historically, South Carolina is known for showing incredible audacity to do what others will not, no matter what the circumstance, for what they believe is right, no matter how wrong it is. On December 20, 1860, South Carolina passed an ordinance of secession. This was the pivotal step that paved the way for the strategy of separate state secession. South Carolina was arguably the most extreme pro-slavery state in the Union and it seemed logical to Southern Democrats that any fight over maintaining the peculiar institution should be fought in one of their strongholds. Not surprisingly, it was also in South Carolina at Fort Sumter on April 12, 1861 that the first shots were fired in the Civil War.

Another shot was fired tonight during President Obama's speech to the nation regarding healthcare. The shot rang from the mouth of Rep. Joe Wilson of South Carolina. During the President's speech, Wilson yelled, "You Lie!" to the top of his lungs, mirroring a recent trend of hecklers that we have all witnessed on the news during the summer, as members of Congress and even the President himself have held town hall meetings around the nation. Such outbursts have been viewed by those from the conservative circles as their right to speak in a public forum or "free speech" in some kind of twisted "the voices of the masses must be heard" ideology. The reality is that this type of thought is the ideology of dissent, the specter of unrelenting fear, governed by ignorance, and baptized in the waters of white supremacy. Can one ever voice a concern that does not agree with the majority? Of course, but there must be some civility in the discourse.

Discourse. Some Republicans and Democrats should look that word up. Sadly this nation has markedly been about choosing one side of the political aisle or another...there has never been any meaningful political dialogue. Even when we have declared war (unjustly), no one wants to discuss peace. Ironically enough, the declaration of the War in Iraq was the last time we heard about bipartisanship during the Bush administration--particularly, when everyone wanted to know after 9/11 which members of Congress did not vote for the war. The quote “American people" wanted to know who was not being patriotic by dare I say it...thinking (what a novel idea). Years later those votes came back to haunt both parties during the last election cycle (especially Hillary Clinton).

Wilson's blatant disrespect, however, is deep. Yes he apologized but that apology is as worthless as the apology Congress issued for the institution of slavery. It means nothing. No action is taken. No retribution given. There is no remorse, just empty words. And just like the Congress, Mr. Wilson can keep his apology. He needs to be reprimanded and disciplined. I would even entertain him loosing his seat. His supporters (a la Rush Limbaugh among others) will argue that Wilson's actions hearken back to Patrick Henry's "Give me liberty or give me death" oration. Most of these clowns would love for you to think that.

The reality is that Rep. Wilson’s actions last night fall more in line with former Gov. George Wallace's thoughts about segregation or Senator Joseph McCarthy's witch-hunts for communists. Actually, I think it is both. Certain segments of the American population do not want progress if an African American will usher it in, even if it means that it will help them enjoy a better standard of living. The liquor of white privilege is just that intoxicating.

Worse still, Wilson's actions totally throw out any argument Bush supporters had about respecting the executive office in America. That was their line for all criticisms of Bush. "You don't have to agree, but you must respect the office." In all of my study of American History, I have NEVER and I mean NEVER heard of anyone interrupting or heckling the President of the United States while addressing the legislative branch of our government. The last time I saw anything close to that it was the Iraqi journalist who threw the shoes at President Bush. We all know what happened to him. This is just more of the same white backlash to a black man being in the oval office.

Let us be clear, racism is alive and well and here to stay. Any ultra left leaning persons who thought that President Obama would wash their hands of slavery and if nothing else create a post-racial watershed moment are sadly mistaken. No more tip-toeing around the subject, we all know that even as much as folk hated "Dub-ya" he NEVER got that type of disrespect in the chambers of Congress.

As I listened to the heckling again and seriously thought about it, the utter insolence reminds me of the Dred Scott Decision of 1857, where Chief Justice Roger B. Taney coldly remarked in his opinion of the case that African Americans "had no rights which the white man was bound to respect." While we are not dealing with the issue of slavery, we still engage the vestiges of the institution. The Republicans now are as desperate as their Southern Democrat forefathers were in 1865, and are willing to do anything to stop any type of progress by their opposition. They are willing to denigrate the audacity of hope, to the audacity of ignorance, as Mr. Wilson so callously displayed.

Obama Speaks to the Kids...The Horror! (Guest Post)

2009-09-08T11:38:00.000-07:00

Seems Like a Parenting Problem To Me
by Mark Anthony Neal

President Obama’s planned address to the nation’s school children on Tuesday has generated criticism as some of his political opponents argue that he is using the opportunity to, at best, infect America’s classrooms with partisan politics and, at worst, indoctrinate them with a radical and “socialist” agenda. Never before has such an address been subject to the kind of scrutiny that the president’s rather innocuous call for good grades and a stay in school mentality has. There is little doubt that the uproar over the president’s address is just further evidence of efforts by some to try to delegitimize the presidency of Barack Obama—like those in the birthers movement—and a desire by political opponents to deny Obama any political goodwill in the midst of a heated debate over health care.

I’d like to suggest that some of the apprehensions surrounding the president’s speech are also the product of a general feeling among America’s parents that they have lost control of the message when it comes to instilling their children with homegrown values.

The idea of a sitting president addressing school children should be openly embraced by all citizens as an opportunity for the ultimate civics lesson. Yet some parents are planning to boycott schools the day of the president’s speech and some school districts are offering parents the chance to opt-out of the nationwide event. As one parent recently told “The Michael Berry Show,” a conservative talk radio show in Houston, TX, “my rights as a parent are being circumvented so this president can speak to my children. My children will not be going to school.” Rights as a parent being circumvented? Is the president discussing religion or some other issue that is clearly out of bounds in the nation’s public schools? What gives? Why is the president given a power that, Oklahoma State Senator Steve Russell describes as a “cult of personality… something you'd expect to see in North Korea or in Saddam Hussein's Iraq?” What explains such irrational responses?

Read the rest @ NewBlackMan.

"WAKE UP": A Sunday Morning Reflection on the Last Scene from School Daze

2009-09-06T11:15:00.000-07:00

I think I was in sixth grade when Spike Lee’s film School Daze came out around 1988. I vividly remember reenacting, with as much precision as I could muster, the steps of the “Brothers of A-Phi-A”, not knowing what a “fraternity” was. Ironically enough I ended up joining that most distinct brotherhood of Alpha Phi Alpha once I went to college (shout out my bros from Zeta Alpha Chapter). What I found most perplexing about the movie, aside from filling my head with notions of the social and intellectual promise of higher education, was trying to figure out what the last scene in the movie meant. “Wake up? Huh? What does that have to do with anything,” I wondered.

As a twelve-year-old kid I didn’t know…even when I got to high school I still did not understand what Spike’s vision was for the last scene of the movie. In it, just as the sun breaks through the clouds rising over the eastern sky, Laurence Fishburne’s character, “Dap” rings a historic bell at the center of campus and screams “WAKE UP!” several times. One by one, all the characters in the film awaken from their various slumbers and come to the central campus quadrangle, aided by the frenzied and insistent “Dap” to open their eyes.

It really wasn’t until I got to college that I started to understand what Spike was trying to capture. Often times, I think we as an audience don’t catch what Spike is doing until well after his films have left the theater, because they usually don’t stay long if they make it there at all (go check out Bamboozled again if you haven’t in a while).

As I engaged in my Sunday morning multitasking ritual, of watching CBS’s “Sunday Morning” with Charles Osgood (which is celebrating thirty years), ESPN’s “Sports Reporters” and simultaneously reading several newspapers both hard copy and several via my iPhone (check out the new NPR app), I came across several op-ed pieces on right wing opposition to President Obama’s speech this Tuesday to school age children. Then too, I read about Van Jones, Obama’s “Green Jobs” advisor resigning under the pressure from recent controversy over past statements he allegedly made about 9/11 and Republicans. The most outrageous thing I read was some pastor in Arizona that said President Obama should die. Huh? (again).

As I think back over these so called news headlines I just shake my head at how the intersection of race, politics, and religion is coming together, as they usually do, to keep this country back. Back from progress; back from addressing its history, or just keeping it back far enough that we continue to NOT have a political discourse. What we are left with is a bunch of “I’m right and your wrong” mentalities where neither side is situated, nor wants, to do what is best for the citizenry and the republic as a whole.

President Obama’s speech to school age youth is about them staying in school, his attempt at addressing an alarming national drop out rate and even scarier international educational rankings. Regardless, conservatives are crying fowl, such as Florida Republican chairman Jim Greer, who called Obama’s speech an attempt to use "our children to spread liberal propaganda" and "President Obama's socialist ideology."

The shocking thing is not that he and others are voicing such concerns; it is that they genuinely believe this moronic nonsense. I seriously doubt Greer or others like him even know what socialism is. I wonder do they think about socialism when they have to dial 911 or when pay taxes to help fund their local zoos or libraries?

George Fredrickson’s classic historical text, The Black Image in the White Mind, is playing out all over again. His analysis was about how America subjugated progressive thought during early decades of the twentieth century, rooted in the systematic ideology of racism and white privilege. In a more contemporary era, the political climate lends itself to embarking on a neo-McCarthyism Era where fear and ignorance are the governing forces. More than ever folk need to know American history, or be doomed to repeat it.

It is ironic that the same flag waving, bible thumping, so called "nationalists" who voted for the imperial president, George W. Bush (twice) said not a word when Bush went into classrooms. In fact, he was in a classroom when the 9/11 terroist attacks occurred. To be fair, however, Democrats did voice some concern about his father, President George H.W. Bush’s speech in the 1980s, but it was a far cry from parents declaring their “rights” to withhold their children from school because of a speech about staying in school given by the elected leader of our nation. Some have even ventured to say that Obama is playing on the "cult of personality". If that be the case how do you explain "The Great Communicator" President Ronald Reagan? His entire political career was a "how to" book on the cult of personality.

President Obama is just seeing the beginning of the storm that he will have to endure. I just hope that those persons of good will, no matter what the political affiliation, religion, or ethnic background will act responsibly for the sake of future generations. “One of the great liabilities of history,” Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., reminds us, “is that too many people fail to remain awake through a great periods of social change.”

Hopefully we each can channel our inner “Daps” to ring the school bell and cry out “WAKE UP!” to those of us who are sound asleep warmed by the blankets of indifference and comforted by the pillows of appalling silence.

CNN's Roland Martin goes at GOP about uproar over Obama Speech to Youth

2009-09-04T12:12:00.000-07:00

Roland Martin faces off with Jim Greer, Chairman of Florida GOP, about Obama's speech to American's youth. I do not recall the same type of "enthusiasm" about any other president speaking to school age children in our nation...EVER. In the calls for socialism, where is the cry for nationalism? Oh, that's right we have a "subversive" in the White House now. I'm just waiting for the new McCarthy Era to begin...maybe it already has. My country is such an interesting place. Gotta love it.

The Green Revolution

2009-09-03T16:27:00.000-07:00

Amidst the urban decay of post-industrial centers like Detroit, someone is meeting a need for revolution. It is a revolution of access and opportunity. It is a revolution of the body and what we put into it. It is a revolution of lifestyle. Across this nation, large numbers of folk who live in the most depressed urban areas have access to plenty of liquor and non-healthy food (if you want call it food).

Again in Detroit, and similar cities, there are plenty of liquor stores, and no grocery stores...places that call themselves groceries do not have the type of produce that is needed to provide folk with quality diets. Such situations are ripe for those who are socio-economically dispossessed to continue to be so. But this is how capitalism works right? There are "winners" and "losers", are they not?

Despite the lack of federal and state support, "Five days a week, the Peaches & Greens truck winds its way through the streets as a loudspeaker plays R&B and puts out the call: "Nutritious, delicious. Brought right to you. We have green and red tomatoes, white and sweet potatoes. We have greens, corn on the cob and cabbage, too." So instead of the ice cream truck coming through the neighborhood there is fresh produce.

I am glad to see "Peaches and Greens" step up to the plate to start the revolution that began with the election of the 44th President. Now if we could just get the true "Green Revolution" to catch on in other cities...St. Louis, Pittsburgh, New York City, Roxbury, etc.

Read more about Peaches and Greens" HERE.

Damn shame. No revenge for Hip-Hop Pioneer

2009-09-03T11:03:00.000-07:00

If you haven't already heard, hip-hip pioneer, Roxanne Shante's so called "revenge" where she allegedly got her record label to pay for her education is a farce. She still has my respect for what she contributed to the music and the culture of hip-hop, but this situation leaves me shaking my head in disillusionment.

Read the story HERE (Slate.com).

Right On Stephen A!

2009-08-18T07:49:00.001-07:00

I don't know about you, but I am really appreciating former ESPN contributor, Stephen A. Smith's socio-political commentary. On the Ed Show on MSNBC, he lets this guy from PETA have it! They get into a discussion about whether or not Michael Vick should play in the NFL.

The issue that I find more disturbing that the PETA representative says Michael Vick needs to undergo a psychological evaluation--by a neurologist and psychologist, then maybe he can play football. Yes, you read right, he says Vick should have a brain scan! Don't take my word however, watch for yourself.

Is it just me or is Vick becoming a modern day Bigger Thomas?

Debt Paid, but No Forgiveness

2009-08-14T11:50:00.000-07:00

Forgiveness--It is a word that many of us loosely throw around like “love.” We say it, often want and need it at some point in our lives, but do we really mean it or even know what it means? How do we define forgiveness? In the book of Matthew (18:21-22) the disciple Peter asks Christ about forgiveness, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him? Until seven times?” Christ’s reply was that you should forgive your brother seventy times seven.

That’s a lot.

Michael Vick seems to test some our collective ability to forgive and also to judge one’s actions. Vick was signed by the Philadelphia Eagles yesterday and it has been the top news story across sports media outlets around the country. Moments ago an official press conference was held to publicly announce him as part of the team. Vick, surrounded by Coach Andy Reid and former NFL coach and now mentor, Tony Dungy, made yet another series of apologies for his actions and it still seems to some that is not enough. Nor was the once famed quarterback’s twenty-three months in prison enough. Earlier this morning on ESPN Radio’s “Mike and Mike In the Morning”, they took calls from around the nation and asked people about their thoughts on Vick. The response was overwhelmingly negative if not outright hostile.

To say there is a plethora of negativity from fans of the Eagles, of football, pet lovers and people just generally speaking, is an understatement. Michael Vick seems to be just as polarizing as President Obama’s healthcare initiatives. I’m just waiting for some of the so called journalists at FOXNews to call Vick and the Eagles front office “socialist”.

The attempts to make Vick some kind of demagogue are outlandish and petty to say the least. He is ready to move on with his life and get back to work and so should we. It seems like his actions are holding an inordinate amount of weight for his crime. Would folk rather he be stoned or executed? How about let’s lock him into a stockade in some public square, will that feed the lynch mob mentality displayed by some Americans? Unfortunately I doubt it. I’m not suggesting in any way that Vick should not have been punished for what he did. He should have, though I still do not believe he should have done any jail time. Significant fines, suspension from the league for a brief period…all these I can agree with but incarceration was just sending a message to Vick, and other black athletes.

Some will read this post and say I’m playing the race card. Well, I am. If you look at the responses about Vick, the vast majority of the most visceral and damning attacks are by whitefolk. I am not saying that across the board African Americans support Vick. We are not a monolith, but I think that some organization should show him some support. Both he and they could use the good press. I challenge the NAACP, Urban League, our various fraternal and sororal organizations, to help out. But maybe some of our black churches will step up to help this brother, they likely are best suited to do so.

Outside of reading his playbook, Vick needs to read about the trials and tribulations of Heavyweight Boxing Champion Jack Johnson, even talk to Jim Brown. It would be great if he could have a conversation with Muhammad Ali. Vick deserves a second chance. The road back to the top will be hard but I believe and remain hopeful and prayerful that he can do it.

The reality is that Michael Vick has paid his debt to society. He owes nothing to PETA, the Humane Society or anyone else. He must show that he is capable of being a responsible employee of the National Football League and the court system by staying out of trouble, but he owes us nothing. I hope he remembers that. It is time for him to move on with his life and start a new chapter. Hopefully this new one showcases his talent on the field and not his shortcomings off of it.

For the folk that think Vick is the scum of the earth, (especially the Christian ones) have you ever been in need of forgiveness? Let ye who without sin cast the first stone. I hope the best for Michael Vick and his family. He can exceed expectations and make steps to continue to be self defining, but only time will tell. In the meantime America needs to remember that it has bigger concerns to address.

"Steven A" Weighs in...and I'm glad.

2009-08-07T06:51:00.000-07:00

Recently, the clown on FOXNews, Glenn Beck, proclaimed that President Obama has "a deep seated hatred for white people." I grow so weary of this continued racist projection. The real racist is Beck himself.

Beck fans the flames of white angst and backlash that still exist in this nation that see any gains by anyone other than them as a direct negative to their socio-economic position in this republic. My honest thought is that extreme views like Beck's while in the minority, do represent a thought in this nation that hearkens back to Alabama Governor George C. Wallace.

White politicians like him sounded just like their confederate forefathers. They mixed populism with white supremacy (though some may argue they are one in the same). Sworn in on the very spot that Jefferson Davis was as president of the confederate States of America, Wallace boldly proclaimed, on January 14, 1963 "In the name of the greatest people that have ever trod this earth, I draw the line in the dust and toss the gauntlet before the feet of tyranny, and I say segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever!"

Now on MSNBC, one time sports writer and journalist Steven A. Smith, weighs in on the Beck situation in very even handed and well timed rebuttal. I must admit that I was surprised to see him so cool and collected, which is a far cry from his excited rants on ESPN (that I seldomed agree with).

Good job Steven A, way to represent!

***SPECIAL NOTE***

Now that I am done teaching for the summer expect to hear more from me. It was hard writing for my blog (or The Retort) and teaching everyday. Many have been asking my thoughts on several things that have occured since I last posted. Rest assured my thoughts will be heard. For those that have been following me, I appreciate your support.

The Symptoms or the Disease

2009-07-09T08:26:00.000-07:00

It's easy to blame the messenger. When it came to CNN's Black In America this was no exception. Correspondent Soledad O'Brien received her fair share of shame and blame for how the documentary turned out. She was the most visible symbol, the most accessible face and the easiest target. But did she deserve it?

I was recently asked if Soledad O’Brien wasn’t the host of the documentary would I still be upset about the airing of the show? My answer to that is an emphatic “YES”!!! O’Brien is but a pawn in a larger game by the so called “left-leaning” media corps that will defend this documentary. They will claim that Black in America 2 and its previous installment show the diversity of this nation, while I see it as an attempt at getting ratings at the expense of the African Americans.

Click Here to read the rest...

THE RETORT It’s time to talk back.

PRESS RELEASE, JULY 6, 2009

2009-07-06T17:18:00.001-07:00

THE RETORT It’s time to talk back.

For those that view my blog regularly (how ever few of you there are) let me say that I appreciate you reading my thoughts and views on the myriad of topics I cover. I would like to announce that I will be joining a host of other black progressive bloggers in the creation of The RETORT.

The Retort is a critical and analytical response to CNN's Black America 2. When the original documentary series aired it drew a lot of attention most of which I found was negative. However, journalist Soledad O'Brien is back for another installment of what promises to be more of the same, maybe not. As such we aim to answer questions and concerns about the series. Was this critique by the station warranted? Was it a true-to-form examination of black life, or was it a primer for the uninitiated? What was CNN's motivation? How could they make it better? Or was it necessary at all?

The Retort, will feature the work of bloggers Jay Anderson of AverageBro, Danielle Belton of The Black Snob, Christopher Chambers of Nat Turner's Revenge, Cheryl Contee of Jack & Jill Politics, Charles D. Ellison of The Ellison Report, Gina McCauley of Michelle Obama Watch and What About Our Daughters, Baratunde Thurston of Jack & Jill Politics, Lamar Tyler of Black and Married With Kids, Elon James White of This Week In Blackness, Poet, writer Bassey Ikpi and more. The Retort will take a critical eye to the representation of blacks in the media. It's also a chance for you to sound off on your opinions.

As Danielle Belton has proclaimed, "It's time to stop being silent and start talking back on The Retort. The time to speak up is now."

I hope you will check out The Retort.

Peace and respect,

VCM

Dead Republic Walking? Douglass Reminds Us That We Have a Job to Do

2009-07-03T14:18:00.000-07:00

It is always good to read and re-read the patriot and freedom fighter, Frederick Douglass' famous oration, "What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?", delivered 5 July 1852. You can read it in its entirety by clicking HERE.

I've posted or commented on Douglass' speech for several years, (before I started this blog) and I will continue to do so. After reading it consider how far we have come as a nation and how far we still have to go. The question we are faced with even as we celebrate America's independence this year, and for the sake of enjoying many more, is what are YOU willing to do to make this nation, your community, and your family better?

In the large political spectrum we must take the same excitement, passion, and fight we mustered to elect President Obama to hold him accountable as citizens and also support him as our president. Too many have retreated to the safety of their blankets of criticism to keep warm instead of offering reasonable critique and enduring the harsh weather and bitter cold faced by those who work for genuine change.

Even if President Obama adopted a Black Nationalist agenda (as some would like), he would fall woefully short of expectations. The work of changing this imperialist republic (that sells itself as a democracy) can only the achieved effectively if the citizenry are engaged into the political discourse. Only then can we truly hold our elected officials accountable, as well as ourselves. We are quick to say, "Oh, Oh, look at what he/she is doing! Can you believe it?" There are too many pointing fingers and not enough solutions created to our systemic problems. Again the question is what are YOU doing?

Remember Rome did not fall from outside invasion, it was internal strife that signaled the end their empire. Americans should take notice and act, or prepare to embark on the pilgrimage of destruction. Then again, maybe we are like the death row inmate whose death sentence is soon to be carried out. Maybe we are a "Dead Republic Walking"? I can only pray that we are pardoned by enlightened persons who embody the sense of hope and justice we all yearned for on November 4, 2008.

The Man In the Mirror: The Double Consciousness of Michael Jackson (Guest Post for Black Snob)

2009-07-03T13:03:00.000-07:00

I recently did a guest blog posting for "The Black Snob" concerning Michael Jackson and W.E.B. DuBois' notion of "double consciousness". You can read it by clicking HERE.

It received some good feedback overall and I was excited to see the number of responses it generated. Whether folk agreed with me or not (or completely missed the point I was making) it was good to see some healthy conversation about Michael Jackson that nothing to do with how he died, who will control his estate or his children. Let us control the parameters of debate concerning him, not sensationalist media outlets.

In the posting, I referenced the single "They Don't Really Care About Us" from Jackson's 1996's HIStory: Past, Present, and Future Book I album. It was masterfully directed by Spike Lee. If you have never seen either version of the powerful video (or need to see them again) I posted both versions below. LISTEN! ENJOY! THINK!

"They Don't Really Care About Us (Brazil version)"

"They Don't Really Care About Us (Prison version)"

Michael Jackson was (and continues to be) a genius! Keep the music and his memory alive!

Special thanks and much respect for Danielle "The Black Snob" Belton for allowing me to write a guest post to her always engaging blog. RESPECT!!!

The Knife is Still in Our Backs...But at Least They Admit its There

2009-07-01T16:19:00.000-07:00

I didn't want to write about an apology for slavery. I thought a latent action to right historical wrongs didn't warrant my acknowledgment, let alone attention. The knife placed square between the shoulders of Africans in 1619 had not moved an inch. It still rested firmly in the backs of their decedents. However, the more I thought about it the more I felt I had to say something.
On June 18, the Senate passed a resolution apologizing for slavery and I was not moved. The Washington Post said the statement paved the way for a "joint congressional resolution and the latest attempt by the federal government to take responsibility for 2 1/2 centuries of slavery." But paved away to what end to what has so far been a cipher of discontent with little responsibility or recourse paid by the perpetrators or the ones who still benefit from their actions today?

This "latest attempt" is just as meaningless, empty, and worthless as the declining dollar on the global market. The Washington Post article, "Senate Backs Apology for Slavery" is jarring in the verbiage that mentions that that government is attempting to take responsibility for slavery. That is in fact not true at all. For one to take responsibility for transgressions against another party has be more than mere words. Printed script does nothing to speak to a legacy of death, domination, and perpetual bondage. There is blood on this republic's hands and it brings pitiful offerings to the alter of forgiveness.

Moreover, the Senate was sure to write the language of the apology in such a way so that it could never be used against them in any type of litigation dealing with reparations. What kind of apology is that? It's simply a legislative version of OJ Simpson's "If I Did It" -- all the facts, none of the repercussions.

Congress has insulted the righteous intelligence of Americans, particularly those of African descent, with this decree. The admission of guilt does NOTHING to provide for actions to resolve the bitter, ugly, and inhumane history of the transatlantic slave trade (and its domestic cousin).

When Malcolm X explained his misinterpreted "chickens coming home to roost" comments he also spoke about progress. Progress to him was not only taking the proverbial knife out of the back of African Americans, but removing the knife and taking action to make amends. No amends have been made, and there likely will not be. Most whites as well as their negro servants will say "get over it" but I have yet to hear someone tell the nation of Israel or Jews throughout the world to get over the Holocaust, nor have I seen any mention of NOT being accountable for the internment of Japanese American citizens in this nation during World War II. Both groups have had not only apologies, but reparations.

Maybe there is a victory here in this tragic and cowardly legislation, at least they now admit the knife is there.

Never can say Good-Bye...

2009-06-28T08:42:00.000-07:00

On this past Thursday, we lost likely the single greatest performer and overall entertainer of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. For so many, including myself, it still seems surreal. Michael Jackson, dead? Can't be! Not the "gloved one" the self-proclaimed (and world recognized) "King of Pop"? Unfortunately, it is the truth...he is gone. But is he really?

Over the past few days I have seen any number of folks reliving old childhood memories about Michael Jackson. On television, radio, and of course the internet. The sense of loss with regard to Michael has been met with the joys of memories tied to the fabric of our lives through his music. More evidence of not just his genius but his connection to the global community.

Over the past three days I have listened to almost his entire discography and what I was able to understand and recapture were those moments growing up--when every moment corresponded to a different MJ tune. I remember sitting at my godmother's house watching "Beat It" for the fist time on MTV. Then too, recalling just as I had with my introduction to James Brown, trying in vain to mimic Michael's moves. But who didn't?

Where were you on March 25, 1983 when Jackson did the moonwalk for the first time? Even if you don't remember that particular day you do remember how your mouth dropped when he glided across the stage the first time you saw the video footage?

Many of us feel like we grew up with Michael. That is true to a certain extent. The fact is Michael Jackson was twenty years older than I so he was hardly my age, but for my generation we grew up watching Michael outside of the Jackson 5. We knew only the solo artist and were introduced later to his brothers. Older generations did indeed grow up with Michael from his earliest performances to his release of "Invincible." The unmistakable thing about him was youthful exuberance that was Michael Jackson, the artist, the performer, the man.

He was not only a slice of Americana, he was America -- filled with all the promises of innovation and excitement. From his influence on fashion and dance, to the use of new media, to when he broke down racial and all other barriers when "Thriller" aired on MTV. A lot of us forget about that. I sure did.

He also represented the valleys of life, those low moments that show our resolve and test our very spirit. From his legal woes and just the constant pressure to produce chart topping albums and unbelieveable performances, the case can be made that maybe he was a victim of his own success.

As each of us walks down memory lane playing our favorite Jackson tunes today, tomorrow, and years from now, I am left remembering one of his famous J5 songs, "Never Can Say Good-Bye."

We really never can say good bye to MJ, he is still here with us in each of us. Older and very young generations of all nationalities and ethnicities. I'll likely be in advanced age telling future generations what it was like to see the Moonwalk or how I used to run upstairs from the basement in my parent's house after seeing "Thriller" and hearing Vincent Price's malevolent laugh in my head, hoping not to get snatched by the zombies from the video.

Peace and respect to the spirit and memory of Michael Jackson -- "The King of Pop."

Exceptionally Unexceptional: American Pop Culture and the Black Aesthic

2009-05-14T13:12:00.000-07:00

No matter what channel you are watching on television it seems that there is some sort of new "American Idol" type of talent show premiering. It has gotten so bad now that even the early morning shows, have talent competitions. Just recently the "TODAY Show" offered viewers a chance to sing with singer/actress, Jennifer Hudson and now they are working on their own "America's Got Talent" auditions.

Similarly, last week Oprah joined in the fun with her own version of "America's Got Talent" calling her show "The World's Got Talent". Joined by American Idol's Simon Cowell, Oprah featured several acts from around the globe culminating with the first American television appearance of Chinese singing sensation Jane Zhang. Zhang has gained international acclaim for her voice. I listened intently to see just what the fuss was about. Before she performed video clips of Zhang singing Minnie Ripperton's "Loving You" were aired where she hit every note. I was impressed somewhat with the range, but honestly I was not blown away with her voice.

Once she did perform one of her own songs to a resounding ovation, Oprah asked Zhang about her influences and she mentioned that Mariah Carey was a big inspiration to her. She recalled a story of hearing the song "Hero" for the first time, which really spoke to her. As I listened to the heart warming story I couldn't help but to think to myself that Zhang was a talented singer, but not the phenom that she was being billed as. She did more mimicry than anything else.

Right after her performance Oprah had a Indian dance team of Suleman Mirza and Madhu Singh, who were trying to create a meeting of Eastern and Western cultures through performance. What it was was, however, was a dead on Michael Jackson impersonation that had some traditional elements of Indian dance.

No need for more examples, but my biggest gripe with these so called talent competitions is that they repackage the black aesthetic largely, the same way that whites have been doing since the nineteenth century in minstrel shows.

What I see from some of this so called "exceptional" talent is mimicry or even reappropriation of the highest order, from a Chinese singer who sounds like a blend of Minne Ripperton/Mariah Carey to a Indian brother who dances so much like the "King of Pop" that he would likely think he was looking in the mirror. Yes, imitation is the greatest form of flattery, but it takes real "talent" to sing with your own voice. Michael Jackson started out copying James Brown's moves, Prince has borrowed a great deal of his showmanship from Jimi Hendrix, Ray Charles in the very beginning of his career was imitating the great balladeers of his era until he sang and wrote from his own spirit.

Among contemporary artists, check out Justin Timberlake, Josh Stone, or even Robin Thicke--if they were African American, they would just be "good singers". Even the so called "blue eyed soul" of the eighties which is personified with Hall and Oates, Simply Red, or Tina Marie (though I know many of us have given her a plaque in the Hall of Soul Music) though heavily influenced by African American music made their mark because they had a "black sound." That does not take away from their work in my view, I'm still a fan of some of their music.

However, Oprah, Simon, Paula Abdul, Entertainment Tonight, and the rest of the plethora of popular culture media outlets, don't repackage something I can see on the streets and churches of Philadelphia, Memphis, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York City, or even in my hometown of St. Louis and tell me that these folks on television "got talent". They may have some, but in my book they are exceptionally UNEXCEPTIONAL.

Just as a parting shot, check out Patti Labelle singing "You Are so Beautiful" with the raspy voice of Joe Cocker (he was the Michael Bolton of the 1980s)...I think this proves my point.

Political Humor for the soul...Wanda Sykes

2009-05-11T14:34:00.000-07:00

By now many have watched (or heard about) the stand up routine that was performed by comedian Wanda Sykes at the annual White House Correspondents dinner. Sykes as well as the Obama administration have taken some strong criticism for a joke about the conservative and virulent radio talk show host, Rush Limbaugh and the tragic 9/11 terrorist attacks.

CHECK OUT SYKES' ROUTINE IN ITS ENTIRETY

Let me just say from the outset that Sykes' jokes were funny as hell! For those such as the numerous bloggers, so-called journalists, and super conservative pundits and their agreeable servants, let me give you some context. Not to fret, however, I will spare you a historic walk down America's checkered past (as I would love to in this instance).

Sykes joked that she hoped Limbaugh's kidneys fail, just as he has wanted our Commander-in-Chief to do holistically. Limbaugh's continued calls for President Obama to fail in my opinion are tantamount to treason in many ways, if you really want to get serious about this. If I or any other person, particularly of African descent, had ever said anything like what Limbaugh has said (and continues to say) about President Obama, there would be a cry of outrage heard 'round the nation. At the very least a radio show that did so would be off the air and the host would likely be incarcerated (believe me that would find a way). "Traitor", "Benedict Arnold", "turncoat" and many other names would have been used to describe such a person or persons who acted in such a way. Remember what happened to rapper Kanye West when he said, that "George Bush doesn't care about black people" on national television during Hurricane Katrina? Luckily he survived that, but he expressed a real sentiment in the African American community.

(Go to the 1:34 mark)

However, I cannot recall at any time where folk actually wanted Bush to fail, die, or anything of the sort. Anger toward him, and his administration, had more so do with what they were, or were not doing on behalf of the American people. It was Bush's policies and the development of what historian Arthur Schlesinger, Jr. called the "Imperial Presidency" that made people angry (i.e., his abuse of power). The collapse of his approval rating epitomized by the "boo's" he received when he left Washington at President Obama's inauguration where an example of that profound frustration. Outside of jokes about Bush's lack of intellect and his life as an illustration of white privilege (check out Chris Rock's stand-up on "C-Grade students") I cannot even recall a comedian black, white, or of any color who said they wanted Bush to fail. Now, I have wanted policies adopted by his administration to fail, but Limbaugh wants everything that President Obama is doing to crumble to illustrate how right the "right" is.

Sykes' joke, aside from wanting Limbaugh's kidney's to fail, also includes a reference to Limbaugh as being one of the 9/11 hijackers, which is just an analogous labeling because of what many (including this blogger) perceive as his anti-American comments. Hoping for an administration to fail is just that. Limbaugh's comments in accordance with Sykes' joke make Limbaugh love this empire as much as the 9/11 terrorists did. When the Bush scandal erupted in the 2000 election, black and brown folk everywhere, along with all others who voted for Al Gore, had to take that one on the chin, rumbling under their breath like the cartoon characters Yosemite Sam or Elmer Fudd when they couldn't catch Bugs Bunny. Regardless, we endured it.

This notion that anything related to 9/11 as untouchable through comedy is rubbish. I have heard jokes about slavery, the civil rights movement, the Jewish holocaust (by Jews themselves) that have been done is a very crafty way. None of those jokes took away from the horror and ugliness of historical fact or memory. Likewise, Sykes never said that the tragedy was not just that--a tragedy, because it was. However, her use of the terrorists as a grouping for Limbaugh, was genius. The really funny thing is watching those who are so-called journalists in the audience who were trying their best not to laugh or look like they found no part of her routine funny, knowing that C-SPAN and other media outlets were covering the event.

Comedy, and specifically African American humor has existed to point out the dirty, ugly, inhumane, and vile things in American life. There is an old saying that I used to hear (and still do sometimes) from older generations of blackfolk that "Sometimes you have to laugh to keep from crying." I think the sensitivity to Sykes' joke is misplaced and just something else for the very White House Correspondents who were at this dinner to talk about instead of their misreporting (remember when you watch television you rarely see real "news", even if you are only watching Rachel Maddow or Keith Obermann).

To Wanda Sykes' credit she did write a page in history Saturday night. She became the first African-American woman and first openly gay person to ever perform a comic routine at the White House Correspondents' Dinner. I guess she made some more history by being the most talked about comedian after a performance as well. That said, I have a message for Wanda Sykes (if she should ever read my blog), "Sister keep doing your thing!"

For those media outlets that continue to attempt to make this a "news worthy story", negating the real problems that are plaguing this nation..."I hope you fail."

PEACE.

2009 Hip-hop Conference at CAL-U

2009-04-16T04:41:00.000-07:00

If you are in the Pittsburgh area this weekend come check out the CAL-U Hip-hop Conference.

Keynote Panel Friday, April 17th@6PM and will feature scholar Dr. Tricia Rose and acclaimed artists Chuck D, Common, and Ursula Rucker.

Chuck D

Common

Ursula Rucker

Dr. Tricia Rose

I will be speaking in a round table discussion Friday, 3PM entitled, "Strategies to Improve the Black Community in the New Millennium: Teen Pregnancy, Hip-Hop, Health Issues, 'Post Racial America' & the Prison Industrial Complex."

Other panelists will include: Dr. Jefferey Ogbar, Dr. Stefan Bradley, Dr. Derrick McKissick, Dr. Norma Thomas, Dr. Catherine Cusinberry, Dr. Sean Goliday, Dr. Frank Vaught and time Konhaus.

Lest We Forget...

2009-04-04T13:21:00.000-07:00

As I sit in my study today I listen to Bob Marley's timeless, "Redemption Song". The words still hit me as hard as they did the first time I heard the tune over a decade ago. I still remember the most striking lyrics to me where, "How long shall they kill our prophets while we stand aside and look?" As I listened and reflected on those words I thought of the countless numbers of folk who have given the ultimate sacrifice for the cause of freedom in this country.

Today, forty-one years ago in Memphis, Tennessee, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., was assassinated--another prophet killed. I was curious to see how would this day be treated by the mainstream media outlets, so I scanned the television to see what would be said, if anything at all. I was horrified to see that the two most advertised specials were the re-airing of CNN's "Eyewitness to Murder: The King Assassination" (which first aired last year) hosted by journalist Soledad O'Brien as part of the cable news station's "Black in America" series, which has drawn a great deal of my ire for its misguided attempts at promoting racial tolerance or inclusion. Additionally, I noticed that several news reports spoke about the release of some new photos from the day of Dr. King's assassination. Life magazine apparently has released thirteen new photos from that dreaded day.

I have just viewed the photos and I am profoundly frustrated. There is one very gruesome picture that shows a man cleaning up the blood from the balcony of the Lorraine Motel, and that image while graphic is very telling. King's memory been hijacked to mean one of two things: (1) a snippet of a speech that does not recount the first most revolutionary aspect where he declared, "America has defaulted on this promissory note insofar as her citizens of color are concerned," or (2) the fact that he was murdered, killed, assassinated...(whatever nomenclature you choose to use) on this day. Do we view King to bring him out twice a year to recall his grand oratory and strength of purpose like some kind of holiday ornament? What does his death and more importantly his life mean to us?

In his usual flare for making convoluted, problematic comments (like the one that Bill Clinton was more black than Barack Obama) Andrew Young mentioned that viewing the photos, "In Christian terms" Young proclaimed, "you know that after the cross there is the resurrection. In secular terms you learn to realize that without a storm there's no rainbows."

There are couple of things wrong here. Young is giving power to the pictures from the standpoint that you must see the death of King to understand his message and secondly, he is likening King to the Christ, which has not atypical of many in their recollections of the slain leader. Let me first say that I do not have a problem with the pictures as a remembrance of the horrors and evil of the human condition. They, like pictures of those whites who gathered to partake in the spectacle of lynching give us a sobering pause into the history of violence in this nation. My issue about viewing the pictures has more do to with how we contextualize them. In a voyeuristic world where we are inundated with images in the "twenty-four hour news cycle" we must be vigilant in our interpretation of our history.

Dr. King was a man first and foremost and full of the frailty and shortcomings that we all are, however, his courage in the face of insurmountable odds is worthy of celebration and honor. Although we must remember that when he spoke out against the Vietnam War, there were not a lot of people "celebrating" him--white or black. Dead men make such convenient heroes for the cowardly. Furthermore, it is not fair to King's legacy to even flirt with the type of messianism that Young is employing in his comments.

We should consider and concentrate our thoughts on WHY King was killed. He spoke truth to power. He placed himself squarely in the cross hairs of an assassin's bullet just one year to the day before his death when he delivered his most prophetic critique of the United States. The title of the speech was "Beyond Vietnam/A Time to Break Silence" and from the pulpit in Riverside Church in New York City he called the United States the "greatest purveyor of violence in the world today." That is still the case forty-one years later.

In a society where children are witness to any number of violent scenes, my thoughts center around how they view Dr. King and his death. While they enjoy the world of rainbows that Young thinks they reside in, is King's holistic message being transmitted and translated outside of a few posters, commercials, photos, buttons and documentaries? Those of us in the African American community must always ensure that his death is not diminished to a "flashbulb" moment where there is this gulf of disconnection that we saw illustrated with Jesse Jackson's comments directed at then Senator Obama mentioning that he wanted to castrate him. Jackson's visceral comments and even sadder crocodile tears at the inauguration give witness to the generational gap that persists between those who "marched with King" and those who would read his words and watch him through video a generation later.

In my study of history, I always have stressed to students (as my mentors have stressed to me) context. The contextualization of history is important. Children in schools all across this nation no matter what the color are introduced to African American history as one that begins in chains with no mention of the dignity and majesty of the cultures that transplanted Africans were stripped from. That type of teaching is incredibly powerful in the most destructive kind of way. Africans who were brought to these shores were men, women, and children who were human beings not chattel.

Similarly, Dr. King was not just some fallen hero who marched for so called civil rights, but indeed lived his life to help the dispossessed in America and abroad. In his historic "Beyond Vietnam" speech, King soberly pleaded, "

"Now let us begin. Now let us rededicate ourselves to the long and bitter, but beautiful, struggle for a new world. This is the calling of the sons of God, and our brothers wait eagerly for our response. Shall we say the odds are too great? Shall we tell them the struggle is too hard? Will our message be that the forces of American life militate against their arrival as full men, and we send our deepest regrets? Or will there be another message -- of longing, of hope, of solidarity with their yearnings, of commitment to their cause, whatever the cost? The choice is ours, and though we might prefer it otherwise, we must choose in this crucial moment of human history."

King's words ring ever true as President Obama has just made his first visit to Europe as the first black leader of a western nation. There is a fervor of anxiety, hope, and excitement that these nations are imbued with that must also take hold in our communities if we are to rise like a phoenix from the ashes of militarism, materialism, and racism.

As "Redemption Song" fades out and Marley strums the last few chords, I wonder how long will we let them continue to kill our prophets in our collective memory and do nothing. What we remember is just as important as how we remember. Marley reminds us, "Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery; None but ourselves can free our mind." How many of us are willing slaves that choose not to free ourselves and instead give into a society that would tell you how to remember and what to remember.

Lest we forget. Lest we forget.

MIZZOU 2009 BIG 12 CHAMPS!!!

2009-03-15T11:36:00.001-07:00

I have to take a quick moment to send out a special congrats to my alma mater, the University of Missouri-Columbia for their outstanding regular season. I, like most alums, were just hoping to get to the NIT as Mizzou was preseason number seven in the Big 12. However, under the leadership of coach Mike Anderson, the first African American coach in the university's history, the team has met and exceeded expectations. I was disappointed and somewhat outraged that sports writers (or whoever votes for the award) did not give the "Coach of the Year" honors to Anderson, and nodded to media darling Kansas under Coach Bill Self. Anderson had much less talent on paper and not nearly the support that KU has. However, in a media hyper society, KU is the "fell good" story.

Regardless, Coach Anderson distinguished himself as a force to be reckoned with. His style of leadership has allowed each player to take ownership of the team vision and facilitated a standard of overachiving. Again, I had counted the team out and was only hoping for possibly a top twenty-five ranking. Despite those of little faith (like me), Anderson led a hardworking, disciplined group not just to top 10 national ranking, but they won the Big 12 crown last night. It was 1993 when last MU hoisted the Big 12 Tournament Trophy above their heads, so this has been a long time coming. It is even sweeter for me as a graduate and particularly an African American alum, I give much respect to the players, staff, and particularly to the coaches at good ol' Mizzou! Good luck in the tournament to Coach Anderson and the Team!

M-I-Z-Z-O-U!!!!! GO TIGERS!!!

"I'll See You Later/(How Will You Live?)"-Eulogy for Brian David Barton, Febuary 27, 2009, 11:00am

2009-02-27T07:37:00.000-08:00

Good morning to you all…to the Barton and Bland families and their extended kinship networks present today, friends of the family, to my fellow classmates of McCluer Senior High School Class of 1997, and all other persons assembled in this place. Today, we have gathered to pay special respect, honor, and more than anything else—we are here to celebrate the life of Brian David Barton aka “Sugar Bee”.

As I pondered over what to say this morning and how to say it, I began to think that if I could ever honor my dear friend and brother this is the ultimate way to do so. When I collected my thoughts to write, and even as I speak now, I ran through numerous experiences Brian and I shared, as I am sure many of you are likely doing yourself. I don’t think you can really help it. To mention Brian’s name is to recall some memory that has great story behind it.

The question I thought about all day yesterday was, “What can one say about Brian that would truly encompass the sheer force of energy that he was?” Brian, as we all know, was a natural comedian. He had the uncanny ability to find humor in almost every conceivable situation, whether you wanted him to or not (my father can attest to that).

vignette [I think once we started fighting after I lost a bet during the NCAA Championship…I think when Duke beat UK for the title. Brian said something that I can no longer recall…I just remember us wrestling on the floor and him just laughing the whole time.]

For those that know a little something about the art of performing comedy the key is timing. So, it’s not just what you say or how you say it, which are very important, but I would argue that one of the most important things in comedy is timing and Brian had the timing of a Richard Pryor or Eddie Murphy (especially when Eddie did Raw and Delirious...of course most of you my age either snuck and listened to those albums or watched the videos without your parents/grownfolks knowledge).

One never envisions that you will have to eulogize a friend, at least not this early in life. One of my old professors once told me, “We never know when or where or how…but all we can do is the best we can in light of our circumstances. We are not always given the privilege of choosing our circumstances but we are always called upon to respond and react to situations.” To put it another way, we have all heard of or uttered the phrase, “you can’t choose your parents,” this is indeed true. Despite the lack of choice we have when we come into this world we can choose how we live. And when you think about Brian I believe that is the BEST we can remember him…”how he lived.” From that I think we all can learn something.

I first met Brian at Ferguson Middle School in August of 1992. If I remember correctly, the school divided the students into teams, and we were on the same team called the Cardinals. That much is not important, but the one thing I remember besides the anxiety of starting the next phase of my schooling was hearing Brian’s laughter. He seemed never really to be phased by the social awkwardness of moving from adolescence into the all-important teenage years. I was always very serious and focused…my goal was to be a pediatric neurosurgeon like Dr. Ben Carson.

Brian helped me to lighten up when I really needed to…and I think in turn some of my seriousness rubbed off on him at times...well maybe not. As we got older he grew to be a trusted friend who I talked to about anything. By the time we entered high school he was one of my best friends.

Once we entered adulthood, Brian and I spoke at length about faith, politics, organized religion, the state of "Black America", and of course hip-hop (the good, the bad, and the ugly). Also, we talked about what we planned on doing as we got older, realizing that we were not the next, but the "NOW" generation. We spoke of how we could be come not just successful but relevant. One of the things that Brian was outside of being funny was that Brian was a thinker. He would call me on his lunch breaks especially while I was going through my general exams and we would discuss and argue about most things. At that particular time we provided an outlet for each other. I was lost in the world of theory and ideas and never really was able to speak in any pragmatic way about what I learned and Brian as able to engage ideas and theory outside the pragmatic, everyday struggles he witnessed at his job and in his community.

Our last conversation was on the Sunday before he passed, I believe, and we spoke about meeting up in St. Louis in April for old times sake, since it had been almost five years since we had connected. We even talked about sporting our old letterman jackets from high school, wondering if we still could wear them (I think I still can fit in mine, but Brian’s might have been a bit snug). I thank God for his life and the joy he brought countless others.

I have come to know that life is a fragile yet seemingly beautiful thing. What will you do with your one-grain of spiritual sand? A better way to put it is what will your legacy be? We often are faced with this question when thinking about the Dr. King Holiday. “What would Dr. King do if he were alive?” “How would Dr. King react to President Obama” and the list can go on and on. Even now only five weeks or so into his presidency, certain media outlets are asking about how will Obama be remembered? When thinking about Brian’s legacy I can honestly say that it is one of laughter, love, and sincerity. Those words sum up “how he lived.”

He laughed and brought laughter to others. He loved his family and close friends as they did him. Brian was also sincere…the way I have proven sincerity in the past in those closest to me outside of my family is seeing whether or not they can help me do some work. Now, some of you, how know me, know that I grew up helping to maintain and train horses, and aside from what many would consider a “dream” to own horses, it is more than a notion to talk about the work involved for the upkeep of such animals and the property they are kept on. You can assume mowing grass, fixing fences, busted water lines and a horse may periodically get out from time to time, but there is one chore that separates the men from the boys, the loyal from the untrustworthy…that chore of chores is cleaning stalls. If you are unfamiliar, that is simply cleaning out the manure from a horses stall and replacing it with a fresh bedding of saw dust…think of it of cleaning out a hamster cage but on a much, much, much larger scale.

At any rate, I could always count on Brian to help me out…rain, sleet, snow or shine, if I needed a hand Brian wouldn’t hesitate to help a brotha’ out. Even when he had been working at White Castle’s on one of those late night shifts he would still come by and help. That to me was a true friend and it was the essence of sincerity that permeated through Brian’s spirit.

Pray for the family—for strength, encouragement, and love…above all love. It is said that time can heal wounds, but while that may be true in this moment of bereavement shower their family with as much love and support as you can. Think of them not just now, but think of them next week, next month, two, three years from now…in the times that lay ahead embrace them with love.

Love is unqualifiable and unquantifiable…simply put you should never be able to articulate love in my view. I believe that all sacred texts, regardless of religion define love. Each book lays out the parameters and ways in which love can be measured. If none of those explanations works for you, just think of the way that Brian would do for you. I’m sure that at some time or another Brian has engaged each of us with one of kind humor and charm. His infectious smile will always be remembered and was part of what made Brian the man that he was.

His smile encompassed not just his humor, but his intellect, and his heart. His smile was more than just a smile but it was part of his response to his circumstances. Brian was never a melancholy or down person. I saw Brian at life low valleys and high peaks and his smile was always the same, and again, there is something to be learned from that.

The question however, is “How will you live?” Right now we are each filled with hurt and sadness, but the hope we each must look to is how Brian lived while he was with us. He chose to live—will you? Will you think of reaching out to that friend or loved one you have not spoken to in a while. Will you complain about your circumstance or work to transcend them? Will you chose to live? As I stated earlier we cannot determine our circumstances but we can craft our response. Try to be more relevant. Try to live…and live fully. We do not know how long any of us has. I recall speaking to my grandmother, who is now ninety-seven years young and asking her how she looks back at her life and she mentioned that, “it doesn’t feel as though it has been that long…but I am just thankful for each day that I am here, because I cannot control that.”

If nothing else Brian showed each of us how to laugh even at ourselves. I think encapsulated in his laughter, quick-witted candor, and the numerous other characteristics and strengths he possessed a purposeful life.

Brian was a friend and brother in the purist sense. I refuse to say goodbye to him. As we pay our respects to his earthly remains I will speak to him as was customary when we were about to end our phone conversations. Peace man…I’ll holla’ at you later my dude.

You will be missed homie...

2009-02-20T15:42:00.000-08:00

Under normal circumstances I would not do this, as I believe that some things are better left to be dealt with in the privacy of those close to you, but I think that the situation calls for some recognition. Yesterday afternoon a dear friend of mine, Mr. Brian Barton, transcended this existence. He was my best friend and long time classmate going back to seventh grade. There is no quantifiable way to write about the myriad adventures we had, going from adolescence to adulthood. Nor is it possible to write how much this brother meant to me...and so many others.

Brian was a young brother that was always the life of the party and had the comedic timing of Richard Pryor or Eddie Murphy. His always infectious smile was a welcome sight in the most difficult situations. In recent years Brian and I spoke at length about faith, politics, organized religion, the state of "Black America", and of course hip-hop (the good, the bad, and the ugly). Also, we talked about what we planned on doing as we got older, realizing that we were not the next, but the "NOW" generation. We spoke of how we could be come not just successful but relevant.

Our last conversation was on this past Sunday, I believe, and we spoke about meeting up in St. Louis in April for old times sake, since it had been almost five years since we had connected. Hell, we even talked about sporting our old letterman jackets from high school, wondering if we still could wear them. I thank God for his life and the joy he brought countless others. Everyday we hear about folks who leave the "land of the living" as my grandfather speaks of it, but it never really hits home until someone that you know passes.

The picture I posted above pretty much sums up the character that Brian was...he seldom (at least in high school) looked at the camera, as he always wanted to look like he was a model or just really stoic. If memory serves me correctly, I think that picture was taken like our sophomore or possibly junior year...and what a time we had. Basketball games, thinking about college, who we were (and were not) going to take to Homecoming or Prom, and the countless hours we spent on the Playstation at Chris Clarks' house. The ironic thing about the picture is that a fellow classmate emailed it to me yesterday recalling some old memories. I thought to call Brian after seeing the picture, but thought, "I'll reach out to him later this week." That time never came.

The Creator giveth and He surely taketh away. How or why is not for me to discern or contemplate I believe. I will, however thank God for his life and the time he was here. I will never forget my friend, my comrade, my brother. When I graduate my dude...a piece of this Ph.D. will be dedicated to you homie...I did not forget those times when you called during the most intense parts of this process to make sure I hadn't lost my mind completely.

Brian was the brother I expected to be in my wedding (when and if I got married), he was the brother I expected to have a nice libation with after I graduated from Cornell.

My prayers remain with Brian's wife, and the rest of the Barton family.

Brian "Sugar Bee" Barton
1978-2009

Still We RISE!

2009-02-19T09:41:00.000-08:00

The recent New York Post political cartoon depicting two police officers shooting a "trained chimp" and commenting that "They'll have to find someone else to write the the next stimulus bill," is more than just mere satire. I spoke to several close friends and family members about the issue and there were some that commented that the authors of the stimulus package were not President Obama, but a group of economists. For a brief moment I agreed with that assumption, but still was angered because the face of this grand scheme to save the dying American economy is none other than our 44th President, Barack Obama.

As began to mull it over last night I really saw that there was no possible way that the cartoon could not be more than what it is...racist. However, rather than being something new it is more of the same racist ideology that has struggled to, and succeeded in some ways, in facilitating the creation of Africans and African Americans as subhuman and fit to endure the ill treatment and thought given to them by their fellow white Americans. In my search for context I thought back again to George Fredrickson's timeless treatise, The Black Image in the White Mind: The Debate on Afro-American Character and Destiny, 1817-1914 (I have mentioned this book on my blog before and I think it is well worth the read).

In the ninth chapter entitled, "The Negro as Beast: Southern Negrophobia at the Turn of the Century," Fredrickson discusses how so called "experts" of the alchemist study of phrenology, as well as other physical sciences, attempted to create a sustained understanding of Darwinist philosophy that explained African American "degeneracy". Such "scientific" studies were employed as the basis of, and accepted as, fact-- if not gospel truth. More importantly, the fact that such unscientific and racist dogma disguised as fruitful intellectual discourse was readily accepted by white Americans at the end of the nineteenth (and well into the early twentieth) century speaks to the entrenched nature of the warped, twisted, and indeed inhumane and incessant need to create a mythology that made the sons and daughters of Africa ripe for extinction.

White Americans, not just in the South, took heart in the fact that they would help mother nature in this biological process of genetic elimination through wanton violence against African Americans, commonly understood through the hangman's noose.

Therefore, there is no justifiable way that in a nation wrought with a history of racial antagonisms that after the election of the first African American President of the United States that such a so called satirical cartoon can be tolerated. However, I recognize too that some are more concerned about whether or not they will have jobs in the next year to really be too concerned with the strange fruits of racist ideology in print media. Their concerns are much more pragmatic and personal--and I sympathize with that train of thought.

The question now is why are we still fighting against the specter of institutional racism? Well, I will tell you. Racism is not dead and has not met the untimely demise that those who want President Obama to symbolize some grandiose post racial watershed moment would like to think. The even larger inquiry I have is why should we care at all about the "Black Image in the White Mind"?

For far too long African Americans, the poster children of the dispossessed of this great nation, have had to engage in physical, political, socio-economic, spiritual, intellectual and emotional warfare with their Anglo counterparts. The response to such actions must take place on several fronts that embolden the mind, body, and spirit to its most righteous levels to illustrate that greatness is still attainable.

To that end, I took sublime comfort in OUR First Lady, Michelle Obama, who spoke to a group of 200 schoolchildren in the East Room of the White House encouraging them to look far beyond the historical figures found in their text books and to "think about the extraordinary people who live in your own world--all those folks who play important roles in black history and American history every single day."

Her words are the rebuttal needed. It is very likely, and I would contest that their have not been so many black and brown faces in the White House since the slave labor erected the structure in 1800 (when President Jefferson moved in...though work continued up to 1809). Despite it all, the last stanza of Maya Angelou's most powerful poem, "Still I Rise" rings in my ear and should be the intellectual and spiritual backdrop for the children that were in the East Room of the White House yesterday:

Out of the huts of history's shame
I rise
Up from a past that's rooted in pain
I rise
I'm a black ocean, leaping and wide,
Welling and swelling I bear in the tide.
Leaving behind nights of terror and fear
I rise
Into a daybreak that's wondrously clear
I rise
Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave,
I am the dream and the hope of the slave.
I rise
I rise
I rise.

A Moment of Transformation

2009-01-21T01:15:00.001-08:00

It is 4:16 am on Wednesday, January 21, 2009, and I am still trying to digest my inaugural experience. I shake my head and look skyward, filled with a thankful spirit for being alive during this moment to see the first African-American President of the United States take the oath of office. Like the other two million or so persons (which I think there were more) that gathered to witness the swearing in of our 44th President, Barack H. Obama, I too battled the frigid temperatures to be a part of this great historical moment.

Aside from the numb feeling that the cold gave your limbs and extremities, it seemed as though there was an energy in the air that was not easily describable that also chilled and stirred the soul. My attempt to speak to the feeling is that maybe, just maybe I, as well as the rest of my fellow Americans, was filled with a holistic sense of HOPE. This feeling was not like the feeling I had when I heard Obama's speech at the Democratic Convention in 2004 or when I was blessed to meet him (and speak with him) on a flight to St. Louis in 2005, nor was it the feeling I had when I donated to the campaign for the first time. Neither was the feeling today the same as I had when I spoke to my ninety-seven year old grandmother when Obama won the election.

As I stood with my uncle and cheered after President-Elect Obama became President Barack Hussein Obama, I then knew what the "substance of things hoped for" and "the evidence of things not seen" was. As President Obama gave his magnificent and succinct oration I was doubly proud to hear that Rev. Joseph Lowery was giving the benediction. In his usual oratorical flare he did not disappoint and important for me was his use of James Weldon Johnson's "Lift Every Voice and Sing"/"Negro National Anthem".

Of the many times that I have sang, listened to, or read the lyrics to this song, hearing the last stanza of the third verse, "true to our God, true to our native land" never felt more inspiring. I typically engage the words and think of my native land as ancestral Africa. Today I felt a second "native land"--America. The imperfect, tragic, oppressive, and devastating aspects of the history of United States aside, I pause to give thanks to the Creator for allowing me to see and experience this transformative moment first hand. For on this day the spirits of those ancestors who helped us to get to this moment through their sacrifice are uplifted and exalted. Theirs was not a toil made in vain.

I shall never forget this day nor the words of my uncle, Rev. Dr. Milton Mitchell, Sr., who in his own transformative moment yelled, "God Be Praised!" after President Barack Obama took the sacred oath. As the new President of the United States filed out of view from the crowd and the those gathered in the mall cheered, there was nothing like seeing the dancing folk all around me. Each of us who witnessed the inauguration seemed to be filled with joy, however it was particularly moving to see the faces and emotion of other black folk I saw who danced with delight and gleeful merriment. As I joined in the reveling, I thought about what our ancestors must have felt like after emancipation singing, "Jubilee".

We have celebrated, we have cheered, we have cried, shouted, and given thanks for the hope that President Obama represents. Now, with the continued help of God let us do the work of kingdom and nation building.

Faith without works is dead...and so is "Hope".

2008-11-05T13:55:00.001-08:00

There is really no effective way to express the myriad of emotions I have had in the last forty-eight hours. At 5:13 am, November 4, 2008, I cast my ballot in the 7th District of Thompkins County in upstate New York. I vividly remember moving my ballot in place to check, double-check and triple check that I had my ballot in the right position to pull the lever for then Senator Barack Obama and his running mate, Senator Joe Biden. There was a nervous excitement in the air and in my stomach, like the feeling I used to have before an exam or a big game (when I played organized basketball). Questions and concerns ran through my mind as to what would happen in the next twenty four hours. I planned to stay up until all the votes were counted across the nation, with one-hundred percent of the precincts reporting. I got my answer much sooner than I expected when, while on the phone with my father, Senator Barack Obama was announced as President-Elect Barack Obama around 11:04pm (ET).

I quickly got off the phone with my father after we yelled with joy and elation. The next phone call that I made was to my ninety-six year old maternal grandmother. I needed to hear what she thought. She has lived through some of harshest times in this nation's history and persevered---she thrived despite the socio-economic downturns and the ever present racialized climate of the Jim Crow American South. I still remember her vivid stories of her paternal grandfather, Teedum Love, a self-emancipated bondsman from Missouri. As I thought about him it seemed that the journey from slavery to freedom had come full circle, at least personally. At this seminal moment I needed to hear what my dear "Granny" had to say reflecting back on her own life. "I'm so glad you called," she mentioned, "I was sitting here reading my Bible and praying for Obama...yes he has won...it is our time." With that there was a long pause on the phone. I wanted to be there to experience that moment with her. However, my connection through my wireless device would have to suffice. "I'm so happy, now I'm going to bed," she finally responded.

I'm sure that I am not alone in such a story. If one went around to black families across this nation, especially native born African-Americans, they can share similar testimonials. We each have elders in our families that have remembrances of triumph and sacrifice; joy and pain...all comprised in tiny mustard seeds of faith that helped to transform not only their lives but their communities despite their dispossessed status. They may have been poor in terms of man's notions of wealth, but they were rich in spirit, purpose, and faith. It was that faith that allowed many, like my grandmother, and her forebears, to struggle for freedom and equality. Barack Obama means something to them that I cannot fully comprehend. While I have encountered significant racism in my own life, I do not know what it is like to have to live under de facto and de jure segregation. Obama is the fruition of prophesy for older generations, a symbol of justice for four-hundred plus years of involuntary servitude of transplanted Africans. For others, he symbolizes the promise of a new day and the destruction of the barriers of race. The ascendancy of Obama to the highest office in this nation seems to conjure up thoughts that hearken back to Frederick Douglass' challenge to nineteenth century white Americans to "have courage enough to live up to their own constitution." For the moment it seems as they just may have--for once.

I watched the media coverage and saw the tears of joy around the nation and the world from young and old, rich and poor, famous and unknown persons. I tried to take the moment all in. Similar to Congressman John Lewis, who spoke today on Oprah, I found myself having an "out of body experience" that moved me. However, as I realized that the dream of Obama's presidency had indeed materialized, I thought last night and long into the early hours of the morning and all day today about the ways in which to contextualize this moment.

I believe that while in this moment aside from the deserved celebration, we should attempt to commune with the prophetic tradition of African American culture. Minister Louis Farrakhan constantly speaks of the need for "deep spiritual analysis" in looking at what must be done to fundamentally transform our own righteous minds and thereby this nation as we move forward into the twenty-first century. I thought back to Psalms 68:31, "Princes shall come from Egypt and Ethiopia will stretch her hands out to God." We are at a special place, I believe in not just the history of the United States, but of the world. We cannot afford to let Obama's presidency become a simple opiate for the masses that is shrouded in the emotionalism of denigrated religious dogma that reveals itself to be impotent in the face of oppression and thus unable to grasp how to create, and facilitate, sustainable solutions to our systemic problems.

We cannot fool ourselves into thinking that the struggle for equality and equity in opportunity is over and fulfilled. Obama is like Sidney Poitier in the classic film Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, but in this version the table is broken and he will have to not only cook, but fix the table before he can sit down to eat.

If we allow this day to be neatly packaged to us as some of the commentators, political pundits, and religious leaders (i.e., Bishop T.D. Jakes and Rev. Eugene Rivers on MSNBC) have attempted to--viewing Obama's election as some sort of post-racial watershed moment, we are doing a great disservice to ourselves and those not yet born. I have said previously that Obama is not a pill to cure all ills, he is simply a symbol, a powerful symbol that allows us to begin to continue to have the conversation about race in this nation, as well as the problems of class and gender. He too creates a personal tie for so many to the possibilities of what can be. Regardless, too many people, both black and white, seem to be ready to re-write the African American narrative as though we have finally arrived. Have we made progress? Of course we have, but to attempt to create a tabula rassa in a "Post-Obama" America is a crime of the highest order.

If we really look at Obama's two-year sojourn to the White House he was "vetted" in a number of ways that mirror the black experience. He had to have twice the education of his white counterparts, three times the capital for his campaign (no matter if he went back on his word on campaign financing or not), and frankly was held to a standard that no other candidate before or likely after will have to measure up to. For instance, the fact that he had to give a speech on "race" in this country was absurd. Rev. Dr. Wright was just as volatile a character as Pastor Hagee was to McCain, but McCain never had to explain himself and his culture as Obama had to. Moreover, we must remember too that African Americans did not support Obama en masse either, as it was not until after he won the Iowa caucuses that we started to seriously think about him as a candidate. Many of us were of the mind of poor Andrew Young who held that Bill Clinton was more black than Obama was. This is specific example of the "crabs in a barrel" mentality that is very real in the African American community, though not espoused by all, it nonetheless is clearly evident. To his credit, Obama weathered the storm with a cool reserve and a decisiveness that speaks to his character and sincerity of purpose in serving those that elected him, and by his own estimation, those who did not.

As I reflect on the "Princes" that shall (and have) come from Egypt, I am also equally cognizant of the scripture from James 2:17 that soberly admonishes us that "faith without works is dead." President-Elect Obama reminded the nation last night "the enormity of the task is great" and that is putting it lightly. It will take the same "unyielding hope" he spoke of to lift this nation out of the cavernous ravines of ignorance, bigotry, and oppression. The initial work is done. We should give thanks for the election going well and the placement of what will be one of the greatest president's in American history.

However, we must not submit to the sublime urges of messianism, nor "prophetism" or "prophetic salvationism." Historian Wilson Jeremiah Moses maintains that the concept of messianism is both sacred and secular. Adhering to a black messianic social script is to diminish the election of President-Elect Obama and thus create unrealistic expectations for his administration and him in particular. Additionally, such an exalting of a figure allows for the true work of nation building and coalition building to be left to others. The thought here is "you go ahead to do the work, open the door of opportunity and just come get me once you get in." Such thought is mirrored by those who "marched with Dr. King." If all who claimed to have stood next to King actually did he likely would still be alive and the first black president may have happened years ago. Likewise, religiously speaking, I remember a comedian once talking about how some blackfolk will be seeking to enter into heaven on a "hook up", like they are outside club waiting in line looking to see or call someone they know to get them in for "the free." Those seeking salvation and equality in its worldly and otherworldly forms must remember that it takes work--hard work and accountability to accomplish such goals.

If, as President-Elect Obama believes, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was indeed our Moses we each must be Jeremiahs in our own right as we continue to move forward in truth, mercy, and justice. For the beloved community that King spoke of as a ideal can only begin to have tangible manifestations if the work is done by us all. Frederick Douglass also spoke of those who seek freedom, and yet refuse to engage in the real work of transformation. "Those who profess to favor freedom," he proclaimed, " and yet deprecate agitation, are men who want crops without plowing up the ground...They want rain without thunder and lighting. They want the ocean without the awful roar of its waters."

Let us celebrate now. Let us cry tears of joy for those here and those that have transcended this existence. Let us evoke the names and spirits of our enslaved ancestors, like my Great-Great Grandfather Teedum Love, and those who lived before him. Let us bask in the glow of the euphoria of this most special of moments. Let us capture the energy of this moment and transform it into continued and sustained action and renewed pride and purpose. Let us not, however, become too emotionally and physically intoxicated for, if there is no work whatever goodwill, faith, and lofty idealism that fueled, arguably the most effective political campaign in modern American history, is dead, right along with the "hope" that was the foundation for the "CHANGE" that has come to America.

Shared Experience: Loss Before Triumph

2008-11-04T00:31:00.000-08:00

Reports have informed the American public, and the rest of the world, that Senator Barack Obama lost his grandmother to a long battle with cancer. I know what it like to loose a grandmother the way that Obama has. My paternal grandmother died during my first year at Cornell. When I decided to come East to finish my education she asked me if I was going to leave which I was somewhat apprehensive in expressing to her because I know she wanted me to be close to home. However, she understood what I was trying to do and the trajectory I was seeking with my training as a historian and a holistic scholar in the best sense.

As I watch the emotion on Obama's face, I think back to how I felt when my grandmother died and how it occurred as I started a new chapter in my life. While there was sorrow and pain, there was also joy in the possibilities that lay ahead. Obama is on the cusp of something great. My grandmother will never see me as a professor, as "Dr. Mitchell" just as Mrs. Madelyn Payne Dunham will never know her grandson as "President Obama", but deep inside I know that both women knew what the future held for their grandsons.

As I prepare to head to the polls to vote in a few hours, my prayers are with the Obama Family during this time of loss which ultimately I hope will be a time of triumph for us all when Obama is elected as the 44th President of the United States of America.

Cornell Hip-Hop Inagural Conference, Oct. 31-Nov. 1, 2008

2008-10-30T13:31:00.001-07:00

Click HERE or on the link on the right for the schedule of events for the weekend.

Sir Charles, Spike, the Bradley Effect and the Politics of Race

2008-10-28T15:16:00.000-07:00

Charles Barkley on CNN with Campbell Brown.

Spike Lee on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" this morning.

It seems that as the election draws near several media outlets have been trying to get all types of political views from a variety of folk both in and outside of politics. Some of the most disturbing to me came from musical artist, Sheryl Crow and actor Dean Cain from "Lois and Clark" fame. The reason I find the views of such A (and B-list) celebrities appalling or at the very least unpalatable is because honestly who really cares what celebrities think about politics? In my view it just seems to reinforce the American obsession with celebrity and fame. Have news outlets run out of pundits to get comments from, and if that is so is this a last ditch effort for ratings? I don't know. However, I must admit that I have my own "favorite" famous folk who I actually like to hear from. So am I just as guilty as the people I am critiquing? Possibly.

The best "celebrity viewpoint" for me came from actor Matt Damon who had one of the most brilliant and brutally honest takes on Sarah Palin back in September. His thoughts on the pick of Palin as a running mate for McCain was like watching a "really bad Disney Movie."

Since Damon's comments aired on CBS almost two months ago, two of my favorite famous people have weighed in on the election and specifically the notorious "Bradley Effect" and whether or not it will be an issue for Senator Obama. The term "Bradley Effect" was coined after former Los Angeles Mayor, Tom Bradley ran for governor of California and lost the election even though early polls showed him as a clear winner going into the election in 1982. A similar situation occurred in with L. Douglas Wilder in Virginia during his victory in the 1989 Virginia gubernatorial election which was narrower than predicted by pre-election and exit polls that had given Wilder a sizable advantage.

Political scientists and other academics refer specifically to the "Bradley Effect" as social desirability bias. Simply put, it is when whitefolk say that they will support an African American candidate, but when they get behind the voting both they just can't seem to pull the lever for those of African descent. Scholars at the intersection of psychology and law, such as Gregory S. Parks and Jeffrey Rachlinski, attribute such actions to "unconscious race bias". I tend to think that it is not so "unconscious" but a continued "conscious" efforts to invest in the psychological wage of whiteness.

Both Spike Lee and Charles Barkley speak about the "Bradley Effect" and think about it differently. Lee sees it as something of the past that will not have the negative impact that some political experts believe that it will, while Barkley believes that many are underestimating the "Bradley Effect." Both men are Obama supporters but view the election and the impact of race differently. Lee sees the polls as inaccurate because they do not tap into young white voters who have grown up on Hip-Hop. Thus, his argument is that this new generation of young whites are more socially accepting of the notion of a black president, where as Barkley finds political polls ineffective because they don't (or can't) take into consideration the secretly held racist attitudes.

So what to think? Barkley and Lee approach this issue from different viewpoints from their various life experiences as well as their career paths, but provide some insightful and I think real commentary about this election. I still find it interesting that those persons who rise to the status of celebrity can get air time to have their political views held whether it is Spike Lee, Charles Barkley, or even Donald Trump. There seems to be some kind of authenticity behind them for some reason. It is almost like getting a celebrity to endorse a product. The common notion is that if famous person "Mr. X" uses it, it must be good. Of course I could be wrong.

Ultimately, the question is whether or not Obama will fall victim to the same racist practices that murdered the Bradley campaign and almost killed off Wilder's political aspirations. Spike Lee believes that Americans have moved past a place where the "Bradley Effect" is not even a salient issue for discussion. So do many others. I hope they are right.

As a Missouri native, I tend to agree with Sir Charles who thinks, "the polls are absolutely useless," in the grander scheme of things. One can never discount the issue of race and the impact that it continues to have in this nation. As an always important swing state, my home city and state (St. Louis, Missouri) will figure prominently in deciding who will occupy the oval office. St. Louis is likely one of the most segregated cities in the nation with a history of racial antagonisms going back to the Dred Scott Decision of 1857. It was at the courthouse in downtown St. Louis that Justice Roger B. Taney ruled that "black men have no rights the white man is bound to respect." Over 150 years later, I was glad to see that 100,000 citizens gathered to support Obama, and many of those faces were not those of African decent.

Historian Ira Berlin argues in his pivtoal text, Many Thousands Gone: The First Two Centuries of Slavery in North America, that "race is not simply a social construction; it is a particular kind of social construction--a historical construction." Similar to class, race "cannot exist outside of a time and place" my prayer is that this time, at this historical moment, America can move to begin to address its demons of race and forge path that moves this nation in a direction of true progress and does not yield to the temptation of white nationalism.

SNL gets it right...

2008-10-05T11:08:00.000-07:00

Glad to see someone understands what is going on...Why is it the case that we have gotten more insightful and hard-hitting political analysis from our comedic outlets like Saturday Night Live (SNL) and Comedy Central's "Daily Show"? I guess famed writer, and fellow Missourian, Mark Twain was right about the power of satire...too bad the "Joe Six-packs" and "Pit-bull Hockey Moms" won't understand. They'll be at the Bass Pro Shop talking about how connected they feel to Palin.

"One can deliver a satire with telling force through the insidious medium of a travesty, if he is careful not to overwhelm the satire with the extraneous interest of the travesty."
-Mark Twain

Vote or DIE!

2008-10-03T13:17:00.000-07:00

Check out Homer Simpson trying to vote in Springfield. Great satire.

Smoke and Mirrors: The Politics of Palin and the GOP

2008-10-03T06:39:00.000-07:00

Last night the American public was treated to a preemptive strike on their intelligence. What millions viewed may be best described as the "Bush Policy" targeted at the common sense of the American citizen. The only truly scary thing aside from what we saw and heard from the running mate of Senator John McCain, is that a large segment of the American population actually agreed with the Alaska Governor.

I cannot begin to describe how infuriating, frustrating, and in some ways painful it was to watch Gov. Sarah Palin’s outright refusal to answer the questions posed to her. As the bloodletting of misguided and confusing talking points ducked and dodged Gwen Ifill's very straight forward questions, I was proud to see Senator Joe Biden masterfully and thoughtfully address the serious inquiries presented to him. He did not come off as a bully or offer the political "smack down" to Palin (as he very well could have at any moment in the debate). As I watched the debate with several colleagues, we shook our heads in disbelief to the answers, or responses of Palin. Her orations or conservative musings (more likely her reciting of their platform) should not be called "answers" as I do not think she actually addressed any particular question posed to her.

I awaited a feeding frenzy that would make the comments from the Katie Couric interview seem like a walk in the park. However, I was shocked to see that only two commentators really addressed what we saw last night...another demonstration of Palin’s unpreparedness and incompetence for the office of Vice-President (or President for that matter). Conservative leader Pat Buchanan had the audacity to say that Palin was great and did a wonderful job (I'm paraphrasing). That is really to be expected now that I think about it. What was eye-brow raising, however, was that he wasn't the only one with such a perspective.

As I flipped through CNBC, FOXNews, and even CNN, only two moderators actually presented an honest assessment of what they saw. This morning on the front page of the New York Times they have headlines that read, "In Debate GOP Ticket Survives Test" or "Palin Recaptures Her Image." CNN has a poll of viewers that actually think that Palin "defies expectations." How was the bar set? Was there a standard to measure her against, oh, right Biden. My question to my fellow Americans is "what the hell were you watching?" Now aside from those that will vote down strict party lines or perhaps, even racial ones, I cannot understand how no one is discussing how Palin’s reaffirmation of her problematic image—an image that was unveiled for all to see in two very scripted interviews, where the Alaskan governor was confusing at best.

This morning I thought maybe Gwen Ifill could have come at Palin harder, but her hands were tied due to her book coming out that allegedly mentions Obama in a favorable tone (according to Republicans). Last time I checked however, Ifill was not running for office. Moreover, from my understanding of the book, it is about the post Civil Rights generation of African American
politicians which would include Republicans such as J.C. Watts, for example, as well as Obama. Again, Biden could have just taken her out during the debate, but then the media (on both sides) would have said that Biden was "harsh" or "cold" to the neophyte politico Palin.

So at the moment I look and I see that maybe it is the case that the GOP has indeed pulled off a miracle, better yet pulled the wool over the nation's eyes. Maybe I did not see what I saw last night. Maybe Biden, in presenting actual examples of the platforms that he and Obama support, did not win the debate. For some strange reason I thought about an old Richard Pryor comedy
routine where he tells a joke about himself talking to his wife, "who you gonna believe me or your lying eyes?"

If the coverage of this debate is any indication of what is to come, the next thirty days or so are going to be long and stress filled for those of us who did not drink the elixir of untruth. I cannot shake the notion that so many people are falling for this political "Okie-doke," but then, maybe I can.

This is business as usual in American politics, particularly the politics of white nationalism. Palin's "authenticity" is rooted in a racist ideology that says "we [whites] would rather have an incompetent white woman than elect more qualified black man." Am I playing the race card? Yes I am. The "race card" as it is typically viewed has been in play since Obama decided to run for the office of President, and has been part of the explicit and implicit tactics of his adversaries. This isn't the first nor the last time that the Republican Party and Democrats too (a generation prior...look up "white primaries”) has employed the smoke and mirrors of race to convolute, complicate, and retard politics.

In historian George M. Fredickson's influential text, The Black Image in the White Mind, he examines the "development of intellectualized racist theory and ideology as it was applied to directly to the programmatically to the "problem" posed in the white mind by the presence of millions of blacks in the United States." He particularly looks at the decades following the Civil War through the first decade of the twentieth century. This time span is important because this was the era of emancipation where whites both in the North and the South had to deal with the reality of African American freedom. This “freedom” was never thought to be synonymous with the egalitarian form of governance that was espoused in the rhetoric of the founding fathers. Theirs was a herrenvolk democracy made for and by a landed, Protestant, male, white elite. As the nineteenth century came to a close there was an explosion of racist theory that sought to create a degenerate view of African Americans that went from the ivory towers of the Northeast to the dirt roads of Dixie. The maturation of Social Darwinist thought is a prime example of just how sophisticated racism became.

Frederickson argues that politicians, academicians, scientists and even writers were part of this scheme. One of the most important chapters of Frederickson’s text is “Negro as a Beast: Southern Negrophobia at the Turn of the Century.” Here he maintains that so called experts on racial theory provided a litany of studies and hypotheses that said that African Americans were not only unfit to live in a society of white men, but that they would eventually die out all together. For instance, Senator Wade Hampton of South Carolina wrote an article called the “Race Problem” where he proclaimed that offering African Americans the right to vote was “a crime against civilization, humanity, constitutional rights, and Christianity.” He later called for a complete separation of the races. He was not alone, however, other politicians consciously exaggerated figures on African American crime and sexuality (the stereotype of the Black Brute) during this time. The goal was to make a link that solidified the racist concept of “zero sum”, that argued that any rights given to African Americans would come as a direct disadvantage to their white counterparts.

This in mind, from Rev. Wright’s sermons, the speeches on race that Obama has given, and even looking at the muzzled moderator, Gwen Ifill, race is still a polarizing subject in this country. For those who saw Palin there can be no argument as to her lack of preparation for the job for which she is applying. The disillusioning affect for me is that Frederick Douglass’ words are more true now than they were when he soberly commented that there is not a “negro problem.” The problem is whether the American people can live up to their own constitution or will they give into the whimsical fantasy of the smoke and mirrors of ignorance, hate, and fear.

Spike makes New Classic Joint

2008-09-29T04:54:00.000-07:00

Last evening I had the pleasure of checking out Spike Lee's new film, Miracle at St. Anna. Like most, I was eager to see how my man Spike would capture the stories of African American soldiers in World War II (WWII). All types of questions swirled around in my mind about scope and span of such a project. As a historian, I was even more anxious to see how Spike would tackle such a complicated subject--the "Double V Campaign" meaning victory aboard against Hitler and victory at home against Jim Crow policy that was the rallying cry for African Americans during WWII. To date the only movie that I thought even attempted to capture this topic with any sophistication was A Soldier's Story (1984) directed by Norman Jewison.

I purposely never watched any trailer for Lee's new film, nor sought to find out which notable actors were involved in the project, if there were any at all. Additionally, I didn't know until after I got home from the theater that the movie was adapted from the novel of the same name by celebrated writer (and musician) James McBride. I did not even see Spike on Oprah last week either (not that I would have watched). I wanted to go into the theater with a tabula rassa other than my historical knowledge of the period and African Americans place in it.

In a New York Times interview, Lee said that he had always wanted to make a WWII epic and with the backing of Walt-Disney (yes, you read right, I couldn't believe it either) he certainly had the budget to do so. I wondered if Lee would find actors to give the story the life that Howard Rollins, Jr., Adolf Caesar, Denzel Washington, and comedians Robert Townsend and David Alan Grier did almost twenty-five years prior in the film adaptation of Charles Fuller's Pulitzer-Prize winning play. I wondered if Spike Lee's love of his signature 360-degree camera angles would get in the way of telling a story that would engross and capture the viewer, like a reader of fine poetry. Could Terrance Blanchard create a score for this film that would not get in the way of the actors performances like a delicate pianist accompanying a soloist? Blanchard had done so in Lee's HBO documentary on Hurricane Katrina, entitled, When the Levees Broke: A Requim in Four Acts (2006), but still I wondered what I would see and hear.

I thought that 2000's Bamboozled was Lee's crowning achievement dealing with race and the sociopathic nature of America, her history of hate, and how entrenched and damaging racialized stereotypes are. His biopic of Malcolm X (which I'm still waiting for Denzel to get an Oscar for) was Lee's towering success at not just a historical film or particular historial figure, but some of the best damn acting on screen. I really began to think, "Spike how are you going to top yourself?"

To my amazement and satisfaction he did just that. Before I started writing this post I searched over twenty blogs and checked out a number of reviews, which were quite scathing and dismissive of the film. However, I expected that. When Malcolm X (1992) was released, I remembered how it was glanced over as well. Most said the movie was too long and yet it did not prevent blackfolk from leaving church early (like my family did) to see it when it was released. Understand though that this epic is about 160 minutes in length, but I did not realize it until Iooked at my watch when I was watching the ending credits.

There were a few reviewers that saw what I saw...an amazing achievement for not only Spike Lee, but movies generally. Lee was able to tell a number of intertwined stories simultaneously that did not just hark solely on the issue of race, which most tend to expect from Lee. Nor was it solely about the cruelty of war. The Miracle at St. Anna illustrates the complexities of the human condition whether it is the senseless murder of innocents by German forces, or the beauty of the compassion for an orphaned Italian boy by an African American soldier from the rural American South who had "never been so close to a white person."

Spike Lee castes his camera's lens on all aspects of war and life in general. With the help of several great actors, such as Derek Luke, Michael Ealy, Laz Alonso and the unforgettable work of Omar Benson Miller and Matteo Sciabordi, Miracle at St. Anna reminds one of the beautiful fragility of life, the courage to hope and dream, and to simply live when times say that dreaming and living are impossible. Historically speaking, Lee picks up where A Soldier's Story left off...his adaptation of McBride's novel brings voice to the voiceless and attention to those that have been so long ignored.

That being said, PLEASE GO SEE FOR YOURSELF and support Bro. Spike!

(Spike Lee and writer James McBride at film debut)

It's never too late.

2008-09-24T08:31:00.000-07:00

I post this in memory of my grandmothers, the late Mrs. Rosie Mae Mitchell and the ninety-six years young, Mrs. Ilene Wells (who wears her Obama pin proudly). Speaking with the latter, my grandmother constantly speaks of how thankful she is to be alive during this moment. This story on CNN speaks to the historic nature of this election. I urge those who see anyone wearing one of those jackleg Obama shirts (i.e. shirts bought from the flea market, corner store, etc.) to ask that person(s) are they registered to vote. We must not allow time and opportunity, or the self-defeating attitudes outlined in the so called "Willie Lynch" letter to keep us from the polling places.

We must remember Frederick Douglass' words, "Power concedes nothing without a demand, it never has and it never will."

"Somebody Please Help me!": The imagined Middle Class

2008-09-22T16:29:00.000-07:00

It has been hard to watch the ominous financial crisis sweep through the American landscape. It has prevented me from even blogging at times because it is so frustrating to see. Years of unregulated greed have finally come back to haunt Wall Street and the nation. About a year ago I was speaking to my father and I told him that the way the American markets were moving was eerily similar to things I remembered reading about the economic disaster that hit America in 1929. Then I predicted that there would be a depression, not merely a recession that we saw in the early 1990s--if our investing habits and the lack of regulation did not change. I prayed to God that I would be wrong. I still hope I'm wrong.

Before I proceed, let me say from the outset that I am not an economic historian and would love to hear from those who specialize in such fields. My commentary is informed, however, largely by the economic and social history I am familiar with. I write as student of American history and as a concerned citizen.

So now here we are standing at the edge of an economic void of unseen proportions, and the federal government is scurrying along at a frantic pace to inject an economy with some sort of relief. The $700 billion plan to buy up distressed mortgages will affect the next three generations of Americans. Not only this, but what will be the associative effect on the already crumbling value of the dollar? At this point I don't think anyone knows exactly.

As part of my Sunday morning ritual, I typically try to watch CBS Sunday Morning, hosted by Charles Osgood. This Sunday, social commentator Ben Stein said that we "avoided disaster this time," but I do not believe that things will end that quickly. As the saying goes, "things will get worse before they get better." There are deep seeded problems with the American economy that stimulus checks and tax breaks will not solve. This economic crisis is far from over.

There used to be a commercial on television (that was suspiciously taken off the air) that showcased a family living the so called "American Dream," but that dream was better understood as a mirage of insurmountable debt. Such socio-economic delusions of grandeur created an economic monster that fed upon itself. The notion of a middle class in this nation is what scholar, Benedict Anderson called an "imagined community."

Anderson writes in his his classic text, that nationalism creates imagined community, "because regardless of the actual inequality and exploitation that may prevail...the nation is always conceived as a deep horizontal comradeship." That same comradeship can be extended to notions of race and class in this country. In his stand up routine, "Never Scared," Chris Rock argues that there is not a white man in the audience that would trade places with him even though he is relatively well off. Let's be honest, Chris Rock is a millionaire. Rock points out that due to the psychological wage of whiteness, a white man is going to see how far it [whiteness] will take him.

The Lending Tree commercial depicts a white man who seems to be living the good life. His children are in "good schools". He lives in a "good neighborhood." He drives a "good car." However, the lie is that he is drowning in a towering wave of debt to keep up the facade and his membership in this "community." His middle-class ideology is propped up upon the frivolous and indeed dangerous patterns of lending and speculation that have continually marred this nation's economy even during the antebellum era.

The leader of the current regime in America, President Bush says "Investors should know that the United States government is taking action to restore confidence in America's financial markets so they can thrive again." Confidence. That is the name of the game and that confidence has been shaken to the core. It may not look like it now, but just remember Black Monday back in 1987 (October 19). Let us see what the month of October has in store for Wall Street.

I'm not alone in my thinking. Robert Reich, currently a professor at UC-Berkeley, was Labor Secretary under Bill Clinton. He mentioned that "This [financial crisis] could be comparable to the Great Depression in terms of just its effect on financial markets."

$11,315,000,000,000...(the new debt)...why do I hear Diddy in the back of my mind saying, "Take that, take that!"

From Iron Man to Al Jolson

2008-09-18T06:05:00.000-07:00

Recently I decided to check out a new movie by Ben Stiller called, Tropic Thunder. The premise if the film is four or five well known actors have been selected to make the mother of all war movies, where the backdrop for the film is Vietnam. The comedy includes names such as Jack Black, Stiller, a surprise cameo by Tom Cruise, but what was most intriguing or disturbing to me was Robert Downey, Jr.'s portrayal of an Australian-born method actor who goes through some sort of procedure to to darken his skin to play one of the main characters who is African American. This is why initially when I heard of the film I protested seeing it. I thought to myself, "are they really going to do black face in the twenty-first century?"

The answer of course is "yes". Downey trades in his high tech suit of metal from Iron Man to "play the dude who is disguised as another dude!" To add to that there is a brother in the movie who is a popular rapper that is reminiscent of the Boondock's Gangstalicious (see clip below). Thus, the rapper is a hyper sexual, super thug on television and on "wax", but in real life the artist is secretly homosexual.

After thinking about the movie for a minute, I am going to give it up to Ben Stiller for attempting to create a smart, edgy, comedy that is creating some very complicated satire of the Boondocks, South Park variety with maybe a few more layers. Of note is the identity crisis that Downey's and Stiller's characters go through. But, I wonder if Stiller's audience got so hung up on not going "full retard" (reference used for actors who play mentally handicapped persons in films like Rain Man or Forest Gump) to notice the larger commentary he was making about the film industry and popular culture generally. I do not think those who view this film will pick on such themes. However, I could be wrong. Which gives me hope that Obama can still be elected.

Go register to vote and then get twenty others to do the same.

The Declinging signficance of race and waffles?

2008-09-14T06:21:00.000-07:00

Don't tell me for one minute that race still doesn't matter. Check out the response by the creator of such a racist product. They have no clue nor do they care to address their ignorance of not just what is printed in relation to Obama, but the larger issue of how what they call "satire" is part of a minstrel legacy of racialized stereotypes to dehumanize African Americans.

I'm going to go to Paul Mooney on this one. Remember when the "California Raisins" were popular back in the 1980s? Well lets get some marshmallows and put John and Cindy McCain on them. Oh, and don't forget about Palin too. I bet that the creators of the "Obama Waffles" would not find that so damn funny.

They do more than give socio-political commentary

2008-09-05T10:23:00.000-07:00

I've been wanting to post this for a while. Check out Drs. Cornel West, Michael Eric Dyson, and even talk show host Tavis Smiley at the recent DNC convention. Aside from their socio-political commentary they can appreciate good music. Let's hope they don't have a critique about how Frankie Beverly and Maze were not honoring the spirit of the black freedom movement. I won't say more than that...this video speaks for itself. PRICELESS!

Palin's Politics of Pimping her daughter...

2008-09-05T08:41:00.000-07:00

Check out CNN political commentator and radio host, Roland Martin, go off about Governor Palin and the politics of race, abortion, and why the Democrats need some attack dogs (among other things). I'll share my thoughts later. Enjoy Bro. Martin!

The Immediacy of Now

2008-09-03T17:27:00.000-07:00

Last week we celebrated forty-five years since the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., stood on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial and delivered his historic speech entitled, "Normalcy Never Again," more commonly known as "I Have a Dream". This oration is easily the most recognized, recited, celebrated, and often inappropriately evoked address of the twentieth century. Both liberal and conservative alike have claimed King's "Dream" for themselves, and all the while none truly capturing the essence of the check that he tried to cash on behalf of the dispossessed of this so called democracy.

Standing firmly entrenched the historical moment was Senator Barack Obama. As he accepted the Democratic Party's nomination for president he symbolized the next phase of the black freedom movement's continuing legacy as well as the forward progress of the American system holistically. As I watched the speech with my mother I wondered just how Obama would do, what would he say, and more importantly how would he say it. I was not looking for an "I've Been to the Mountaintop" sermon or a lecture on race (again). As Obama got into the speech I was keenly aware of his every word. What jumped out at me was the way that he used King's refrain "Now is the time..." throughout. He poignantly and poetically spoke about how a "Georgia minister" had come to Washington demanding equality. He firmly established his policy initiatives to his detractors and was noble and enigmatic in his delivery. I along with my mother was proud. So too were those black folk I saw in the barbershops and churches in my home won in St. Louis.

My eighty-five year old, great-uncle Edward Mitchell (my grandfather's older brother) affectionately called, "Unc" by my entire family, mentioned that after seeing Obama's acceptance speech he hoped that God will allow him to see Obama as president. "A black man as president!" he shouted,

"If de' Lawd allow dat' he can gone 'head and take me home."

However, for some of us, that, like those who wanted more from his wife Michelle, was not enough. Not moments after his speech the members of black intellegensia rose to demonstrate their disdain and disbelief at the Senator's words. In particular, Drs. Cornel West and Julianne Malvaeux were quite outspoken in their criticism of the speech with Tavis Smiley. Dr. Malveaux boldly proclaimed that Obama had "perpetrated a white wash of our [African American] history." She went further to exclaim, "...the meaning [of the moment] has been squandered." Prof. West chimed in by emphatically stating that Obama was trying to "escape from history." The two of them even went so far as to mention how previous speakers moved them to tears.

Their biggest issue, however, seemed to be the fact that Barack Obama did not mention King by name. Was that too much to ask (in their minds)? They added that even Hillary Clinton, the patron saint of Negroes, mentioned Harriet Tubman's fight against slavery. Ultimately, they both were disappointed in Brother Barack. They were not alone in their view. Others across black and normative media and in the blogoshphere and even folk I spoke with agreed with the two intellectuals. Jesse Washington, an Associated Press national writer penned a piece entitled, "Obama avoids race on King's "Dream" Anniversary."

I must part ways with the two scholars on this issue, and those that agree with their assessment of Obama's speech. As a historian, I understand their argument and feel where they are coming from, but ultimately their disappointment is misplaced. They are missing the point. When King delivered his famous "Drum Major Instinct" sermon, which was also used as his eulogy, King spoke about not mentioning where he was educated or the numerous awards that he received, because it was not important. What was important was that he "tried to help somebody." He understood that the dream or the goal of the movement was bigger than him. Now with Barack Obama, his place in history is bigger than him just as the moment is. The fact that he did or not did mention Fannie Lou Hamer or Megar Evers in his speech is dismisses the larger significance of the moment. It does not escape from history as West argued.

Even when King delivered "Normalcy Never Again" there were so called Negro leaders who spoke out against him, even more so after his "Beyond Vietnam" address a year before his death. We need to understand that this moment in our collective history is part of a larger continuum that does not place one person above anything else. King, like Harriet Tubman and the many who have sacrificed for the cause of freedom are symbols of this movement to the beloved community. Thus, this struggle is not about one particular person or scholar (West and Malveaux) is abou the totality of the experience toward justice and equality. Even if Obama had mentioned King by name, the black intellgensia would have found something else to complain about.

Somewhere along the way we have lost sight of what is truly important. We can criticize and critique Obama all we like, but what are each of us doing to help realize the goal of liberation? For that matter out of the thousands of dollars West commands to speak for couple hours, how does he walk the path begin to challenge black folk to see the larger picture?

The biblical Israelites were allowed to see countless miracles where Moses was a vessel of God's will. Yet, they still turned away from God and Moses' warnings to worship a golden calf. If Obama parts the waters of opportunity that allow for him to be the first black president of the United States of America, how much work are we willing to do to free ourselves? How many of us that wear Obama tee-shirts we got from the flea market or barbershop are registered to vote? Obama cannot do it alone. If you disagree with his speech, fine. Do not however, do the work of those hate filled fearful whites (and their negro servants) by tearing him down. Let us leave the messianism and the trivial notions of what is or is not a "perpetual white wash" of our history and look for how we can help address the immediacy of now.

I wish both Cornel West or Julianne Malveaux could talk to "Unc" to explain just what this moment and these times represent. The "now" is much more than one speech but a continued and sustained effort toward progress.

Mission Accomplished...PERIOD.

2008-08-26T09:16:00.000-07:00

Last night at the Democratic National Convention, Michelle Obama did what she was supposed to do. She presented herself, her children, and her husband as authentic, approachable, passionate, patriotic, and most importantly American. She had the daunting task of setting the tone for the convention. I was eager to hear what she had to say and particularly how she would do so. I had the opportunity to watch and discuss her speech last night with some friends, one of which was African American woman. I mention this because she said she did not really take anything away from the speech. She felt it was too bland and did not give her what she expected. My question to her was, "what did you expect?" "Just something more," was her reply.

At this stage in the game Michelle Obama is simply playing her position. She had to step away from the political caricature of her as some angry black nationalist that was in some way a mixture of the blaxploitation characters of Cleopatra Jones and Foxy Brown (as seen on the satirical cover of the New Yorker). If you watched the coverage (no matter what channel) you saw that she did what she was supposed to do when you saw white women crying. What do I mean by this? It was the goal of the speech, in my estimation, to create some common ground, empathy and shared experience with those white women still uneasy about Barack and still pissed that Hillary is neither the nominee nor on the ticket. Michelle's use of her "American"story was masterful not just for what it said, but how it made people...especially white women feel.

Now I too did not think the speech was as brilliant as some media outlets have proclaimed or gave the "talking points" the sister was looking for last night, but after careful thought, Michelle could not give some spectacular, emboldened speech that communed with the prophetic. Michelle's job was to create a place from which to build and find consensus and she did just that. Unlike President Bush's declaration of "Mission Accomplished" on May 1, 2003, Michelle Obama completed her task and has set the stage for a unifying of the Democratic Party. Only time will tell if she along with Hillary tonight will provide the closure that some white women need to move on and pull the lever for Barack in November.

On a side note I would also add in a more light hearted way that Michelle Obama is my awardee for the 2008-2009 Claire Huxtable Award. Michelle Obama is one bad sista!