I've taking the leisure to use this prominent day not to deteriorate or shame such greatness, but to shine a light upon a sensitive subject. I ask where do we really stand in America today? Martin Luther King day is now observed as a national Holiday, and i applaud those who fought for its establishment. However, I will not forget about mentioning the states whom choose not to observe it under it's title until 16 years later; nor the individuals who have bitter feelings about it's development entirely.
147 years later are we free or still sadly crippled by those same manacles which connect my generation to segregation? Are those chains of discrimination gone or have those chains modified into today's job markets and education? 147 years later we can drink freely from any public fountain, sit amongst our Caucasian peers and not be attacked. But can we attend any college we choose too, without governors, mayors, and wealthy businessmen as our reference; or have exceptional talents at some sport? So I ask this, where have we come as a country really?
Walk block to block and ask yourself does our black community look like its gotten any stronger since August of 1963. Don't allow the vacant houses and empty lots to frighten you. Although they look a lot like a still image of the aftermaths of the riots of 1968 and 1992, or even Hurricane Katrina. Our communities are as fragile as some third world countries. Is this Dr. Kings dream, or did he ask for us to be content with moving from one ghetto to a larger ghetto?
It's a given and obvious fact that the generations of today struggle with segregation and discrimination. However it has transformed into economic segregation and economic discrimination. Preventing children from families at and above the poverty line from obtaining a higher education and therefore not being qualified for many of the jobs available. Although the cycle and system of oppression has changed its results have not. Even more, the black community has allowed themselves to be exploited by the media which is dominated by yet again the Caucasian. Whom glorify the urban image and way of life. Such as mainstream "Gangster Rap" and shows like First 48 or even our own BETs show American Gangsta. With that being said, are we really living Dr. Kings dream? Yes we were all created equal, but do we all have the equal opportunity to pursue happiness?
I feel as if Dr. King's Dream is like a burning candle. His dream is the wick and the generations after his death are the candle wax. At this point in life that candle wax is running out. As black people we rather argue over irrelevant ideas than fight for injustice. As black people we rather complain about Lebron James pursuing more money at another franchise than raise hell about the sudden change in dress code. The dress code for NBA players was for Black players. Does it really matter what someone wears as long as they show up to compete.
ReplyDeleteWe are at a point in history where ignorance is paving the way to a new downfall in lives of our children. The conspiracy to destroy young black boys still exists and our prisons our still over populated by black men of all ages. And that’s the way the cookie crumbles and will continue to crumble until as people we truly take a hold of our now and our future.
I agree with you sis. Our prioirty as a group is not to survive or maintaing our race. With sit aside and allow ourselves to be exploited. We are blind to to reality and spend to much time allowing the media to influence us. BET has failed us... We have fallen way side and it will take a generation to change a generation. we need a renaissance
ReplyDeleteI have so much to say about this topic and this blog will not serve my opinion justice. I disagree with the both of you to a certain extent.
ReplyDeleteDr. King's "Dream" is very well alive, because the United States of America has a Black President! My Grandparents are still amazed at where our country has come from. We shouldn't blame anyone else for our down falls and misfortunes, because we are a disgrace to ourselves. We take advantage of education, we take advantage of equality, and we take advantage of freedom of speech (The things Dr. King fought for). We need to check ourselves before we place the blame on someone else.
Even though we are unable to afford the same education as whites, that should be enough reason for us to work harder to get what we deserve. I was fortunate enough to make it through college with the assistance of my Grandparents. I hope to put my children through private and ivy league schools, but in order to do so, I have to be financially smart, politically intellegent, and socially confident. As a people we can no longer be selfish. We have to live for our futures and and for our families.
Tone, "First 48" and "American Gangsta" are programs that show us that no matter what you do, if it is against the law, you will end your career either incarcerated or deceased. The "bad guys" NEVER win!
As far as "Rap" it is GREAT, until we start degrading ourselves, our culture, and our women. If we don't respect "us" why should "they"?! If we are going to rap, we need to make it meaningful.
Fatimah, when it comes to the NBA dress code, those players make MILLIONS of dollars EACH YEAR, so there is NO reason for them to arrive at an arena or sit on the bench looking like they just came off the street. I ask you, will you go teach a class full of students in a "tall tee" and baggy pants? NO! You will be dressed in business attire, because you need to present yourself appropriately. Thousands and sometimes Millions of fans see NBA players each game, so they should dress in nice attire.
Ultimately we decide our own futures and no one else should determine or defer our goals/dreams. If we "do what we need to do, we can do what we want to do!" So we need to make sure we have our shit together! There should be NO DOUBTS that we deserve the credentials that we posses!!!
!!!WE HAVE TO DO BETTER IF WE WANT TO BE BETTER...STOP MAKING EXCUSES!!!
"WE HAVE TO DO BETTER IF WE WANT TO BE BETTER...STOP MAKING EXCUSES"
ReplyDeleteWell Jalaquan neither one of us really made an excuse for blacks. And as stated I ended my post saying...
"And that’s the way the cookie crumbles and will continue to crumble until as people we truly take a hold of our now and our future."
Now take a even deeper look into post and I mentioned Jawanza Kunjufu's philosophy that has been studied and written in his book "The Conspiracy to destroy young black boys" His philosophy speaks volumes in the subject of educating not only black boys. But educating all black people. Go do your research.
You can present me with what you looked up on google Jalaquan. You contradicted yourself when you mentioned BET and the degrading of women. "Bitch" is a known favorite word of yours on Twitter. So ....do you accountabilty? If so to truly stand behind anything you said in response you must also re-evaluate yourself. As a future leader what you do today will always be remembered tommorow. And thats simply how the world works.
And in response to the clothing attire. I can't get a clear picture because I don't wear tall tees and baggy clothes. The NBA is a business when it comes to marketing the athletes. Selling jerseys...selling bobble heads....watches and so on. It should never matter what they wear when they won't sit behind a desk while playing basketball.Business attire is proper if they have business meetings or a press conference. But I still feel what they walk into a game wearing says nothing about who they are. A killer can wear a business suit.
So ....do you accountabilty?
ReplyDelete"should have been.... do you except accountability"
OK, let me first start by saying, I was generally stating "stop making excuses!" That statement wasn't necessarily geared toward either of you.
ReplyDeleteFor you to say "go do your research" kind of makes no sense, because I stated we do need to get educated! I'm not sure if you said that because I stated I disagree with you and Tone, but I actually said I disagree to a "certain extent," meaning I DO agree with some points that you made.
I NEVER said some of the things I do/say are not degrading, but you know what, I admit my downfalls. That's why I said "WE need to do better!" I understand that I make bad decisions and I may say the wrong things. I have a good heart, and if whoever reads my tweets know me, KNOW that half the things I say on "TWITTER" are not how I truly feel. I constantly explain that, so the ones that do look up to me won't reflect from my negative ways. I do "ACCEPT" accountablity for what I say/do, and I stand FIRM on everything I have ever said/did/typed. So there is no need to "reevaluate" myself, when I already know myself and my short comings.
And the NBA dress code was enforced due to the athletes not wearing appropiate attire on the side lines, which DOES matter!!! The way a person dress speaks volumes of their character. #FACT
Ok, I really don't know how to start this but let me first say I like what I am reading in the blog, the responses, and the little debates.. Now from my point of view I believe that Dr. King Dream is alive in well but its just not dwelling in us all, and some of us have pushed it to the side for our own dreams. We have over some a lot from what Dr. King was looking for, but now there are other things we are faced with.
ReplyDeleteSchool how many of us applied to go to the best colleges we could and how many of us wanted to go to certain colleges but knew it was not in the budget. See that’s one right there; we are able to go to any school that we want but now we are faced with a financial burden. So we overcome one thing and they hit us with another. The laws states that we are free from segregation and discrimination, we can sit in any restaurant that we want; we can go to any movie theater that we want, shout you can buy a house where you want. But we are mentally discriminating and segregating ourselves by wanting to live in only all black neighborhood, by only eating at restaurants that are only in the city or black owned, or only supporting black actors or producers or artist only. I know you hear this everyday, KSU has more whites then blacks. So this is apart of his dream, not just for us to attend their schools but for them to attend ours. The school is historically black, and you can't change what it was founded on but to live the dream we have to have diversity in the school.
Man grandpa has a beautiful house in very diverse neighborhood; Uncle David has a beautiful house in a very diverse neighborhood. Older folks don't mind spending money to get out of the city and go live the dream. But us young folks not trying to leave the city and reach out to show our kids that life is bigger than those major cities.
Tone asked are our blocks getting stronger... No not when you have young minded people that are divided in always. Don’t want to help your neighbor with the little things; thrash lying on their property, we don’t pick it up unless it blows to are yard, then we complain. We never want to go to the neighborhood watch meeting BC you got your house under control. Grandpa and Uncle David blocks do so much together, and it’s not BC they have money, its BC they decided to share their thoughts and ideas and work together to make the neighborhood a better place as a whole.
Tone also made this statement:
"Even more, the black community has allowed themselves to be exploited by the media which is dominated by yet again the Caucasian. Who glorify the urban image and way of life? Such as mainstream "Gangster Rap" and shows like First 48 or even our own BETs show American Gangsta."
You said something valid “black community allow themselves to be exploited by the media which is dominated by yet again the Caucasian... We have to be smarted it’s not the white man fault that we jump at every dollar they throw our way to make us seem less than human. That’s about self respect not the white man. This is a Use or is USED world and as black people some play it the wrong way and let the Money use them not the person giving it out. The first 48 is not put out to exploit black people, its to show how crime and homicide is fought; it just said to know that its always fought against the black men and women bc we are the ones out here killing and they have to solve these murders. They made the show not the killings. Theirs some good from some of the things they show like "American gangsta". This should be an eye opener to not just black society but all society that you will not be tolerated in this world. It not to down play the black man, which is not the only race of people on American Gangster, but to give us knowledge of what people did in the past and how they impacted society and how bc of them things are the way they are. But now it will not be tolerated and you like them will be killed, locked up or missing from the face of the earth.
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ReplyDeleteI believe the black race exploits themselves more than anyone. Listen to a group o girls what do they call their girl friends (My B!+<HE$), what do most guys call girls B's and 304's. We talk more about each other dress and hair and shoes more than others. We are our worse critics at times. I must say I don't use foul language toward females. I say slut to white black, Mexicans whoever and I need to work on that.
ReplyDeleteTone stated:
Yes we were all created equal, but do we all have the equal opportunity to pursue happiness?
No we don’t equal opportunity to pursue happiness but when have we or when will we. When does everyone on the track have the same speed, endurance and finishing strength... its not possible, and this is what makes the race so much better. I was always told if everything was easy, everyone would be doing it. So the world is set up as a challenge. Now on the pursue of happiness I don't think we will ever be equal BC no to man will find happiness the same way. No two men our searching for the same happiness. For some happiness is living a just life for GOD, other its money, others it a big house, family, kids and a dog. So when you look at it happiness will always be chased for but in different ways.
In my final statements I just want to say I agree with what we all our saying BC the dream of MLK has come to life, but not all people are living that Dream anymore. It's not totally a bad thing, BC I think it’s also right that we have our own Dreams and stop letting society dictate what they are. I just want our people to realize that this Dream is what paved the way for where we are now, and we must respect and uphold it as much as we can our it will fall to the waste side. Let’s do what we as black men and women can to keep him and his Dream alive. I love it and I am living it, yep the only Black Male in my class. It’s the little things that display the Dream to us and those are the little things that will keep the Dream a LIVE!!!
D_Alter_eGo <-----TEAMfOLLOWBACK
#OUCH D.O. hit it right on the nose! Our culture and society will be alright, as long as we uphold our parts and show the ones younger than us that there is another way. I honestly don't even work for me. I work for my family and the people who look up to me. I'm so afraid of letting people down, and I feel we should have that mentality. We all need to live for something/someone. We are here for a purpose and we have to find and exploit that purpose.
ReplyDeleteI just hope to be as good as the men that raised me. So whatever I can do to help the next man/woman I am all for it.
Ok I see where your coming from on working on yourself first. And I apologize for calling you out on that tip.
ReplyDeleteOn the subject of "do your research" I was dead serious. Everyone needs to read the Jawanza Kunjufu book The Conspiracy to destroy black boys. His books gives insight to your point of "education" for blacks as a whole. The book speaks on the public school system setting young black boys up for failure as early as the fourth grade. While that may seem absurd to people wondering how can a teacher really determine the life of a 9 or 10 year child it is very much true and I stand by the theory of Kunjufu. Let this book bring enlightenment to the power of postive black males in young boys lives. But please don't make it a "fuck white people" or "fuck the education system" riot. As you spoke of Jalaquan it's still all about accountability.
I still stand firm on the my thoughts on the NBA dresscode. But I can agree what is worn by a player who may be suspended or injured on the sideline should be professional. But everyone else should be able to where whatever they feel.But there is a certain time and place for these players to wear correct attire.
I will have to read that book.
ReplyDeleteMan D.O. your view of the 1st 48 is very true. Sadly as episodes get closer and closer to home we know those that are on this show. Family members of KState students have been featured on the show and even a recent show had a Kstate student appear as part of a crime. No the episode isn't strictly aimed at degrading black people. But the question can arise is the show bias? While they are indeed solving crimes? Why are the crimes on the show predominately black crimes. Black people aren't the only people killing and being killed. I think the show could hit more places then the typical urban community.
ReplyDeleteI feel like as black people we may see the show as something that we hear about in everyday life. We may share similar experiences or have friends that that have had family memebers fall victim to violence. But what about the little surburban kid thats watching the show. The one whose only been exposed to black children whose parents are as wealthy as his and BET. That displays the "get money" "fuck bitches" "cash rules everything around me" type thinking.
Is First 48 Prejudice n Bias...Or is it an Eye Opener for our communities??? Are our eyes perhaps closed?!? I hope that's the case, because Fatimah made a GREAT POINT! The show only shows predominantly black crimes, so their reasoning for constantly showing our people HAS to be educational O_o
ReplyDeleteWOW, I really just enjoyed reading the dialogue, we need more dialogues like this. Thank you all for sharing, thank you Tone for writing.
ReplyDelete